Valentine's Day Approaches
by goddess.of.snow.33
Summary: Valentine's Day is coming to Konoha. Naruto and Sasuke go on competing, disregarding their mutual crushes on each other. How long will they keep it up? NaruSasu, and some LeeSaku, ShikaHina, and NejiTen.
1. Worthless

**A/N: **This is the second version of this fic. I hope it's much better as a whole cuz of my extensive editing. Just to explain a few things – this all probably takes place in a slightly alternate Naruto world where Sasuke never left for the Sound. Naruto and Sasuke and the other Genin are around 14 years old. This is mostly about Naruto and Sasuke, but there are other pairings as well (I'm gonna tell a number of stories at once). I hope you all like that style, but just remember that it means there are a ton of different scenes instead of one long scene in each chapter, although I'll put in a couple like that too.

Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, the poem below belongs to Izumi Shikibu, and the fic itself belongs to meee

xxx

Yesterday,

what were my reasons

for sighing?

This morning,

love is more painful still.

- Izumi Shikibu

Chapter 1 – Worthless

Sunlight streamed through the window, blinding the dark-haired ninja, who had been sleeping peacefully with a faint smirk on his lips. But now Sasuke sat up and growled, eyes becoming slits as he got out of bed and closed the blinds. The Uchiha hated being woken up in the middle of a good dream about a certain hyperactive ninja, even though he knew the dreams would never come true.

All of this, including the realization that his crush would never like him back, had put Sasuke in a very bad mood indeed. He dressed quickly and stormed over to the door, eyes widening and then closing in disgust upon opening it. _It's the day before Valentine's Day . . . _Sasuke remembered with horror.

Knowing his infinite following of fangirls, many of them would try to get Valentines to him early to make sure he got their heartfelt confessions of love. Already, pink envelopes and hearts had been shoved under his door and plastered to the walls outside. Boxes and vases of flowers crowded the narrow hallway, making it impossible for him to leave his room.

Sasuke turned around in defeat and opened his window, climbing out onto the roof below it and breathing in the fresh morning air.

The Uchiha leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets, eyes studying the street below him. None of the girls had spotted him yet, but he realized that he'd better get going or they'd see him . . . and there was no knowing what might happen to him then.

As he was turning to go, his eyes caught on a bright yellow head of hair. It was heading towards the forest outside the village. _Naruto . . . _Sasuke whispered, heart beating faster. He knew his rival would be using all his time to train. His eyes filled with an indescribable emotion as he narrowed them. _He's getting stronger every day and I'm still weak. _Sasuke cursed and slipped into the shadows to follow the receding form of his supposed enemy with only one thought in his mind.

_I need to prove myself to him . . ._

_xxx_

_It's the day before Valentines Day . . . ugh, what can I do? _Shikamaru sat with his head in his hands, his lips in a small frown. He looked up at the clouds drifting lazily in the February sky. With a sigh, he pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen, and wrote . . .

_Dearest Hinata . . . Valentine's Day is a day no one should spend alone. Would you like to have lunch with me on the hill just outside the village at noon? We can just watch the clouds float overhead and talk together about anything . . ._

_Shikamaru_

He swallowed and sealed the card in an envelope. A faint blush covered his cheeks. Shikamaru would give the letter to Hinata tomorrow after breakfast. Speaking of breakfast, he felt slightly hungry.

He sighed again. At least he got that over with. He had been so nervous, which was quite unlike him . . . but what if she didn't accept? What if . . . she thought he was worthless? They didn't really know each other . . . what if she thought he was a lazy good-for-nothing idiot? Shikamaru groaned and stood up, fidgeting with the letter in his hands.

xxx

Naruto stood in the middle of a clearing, shafts of morning sunlight falling around him. He was breathing hard and his knees shook with exhaustion. Even though Kakashi-sensei had given Team 7 the day off (saying something about lovebirds and Valentines and the road of life), the blonde ninja wouldn't let himself stop practicing for one moment. He told himself that he had to get better to beat Sasuke, who just seemed to get stronger and stronger with no effort, while Naruto felt like no matter how hard he tried, he just stayed the same loudmouth hyperactive ninja with no talent.

Naruto growled in frustration. "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he yelled. He had to keep practicing his rasengan no matter what!

A pair of dark eyes watched from the shadows of the forest. The trunks of all the trees around Naruto were marked by the rasengan—the blonde ninja had been training for hours. Sasuke wondered where the boy got his strength—he didn't appear to be dangerous, and yet . . .

Sasuke winced, remembering their fight on the roof of the hospital. If Kakashi-sensei hadn't intervened, Naruto would have won. The Uchiha clenched his fists in anger. _I'm weak! I'm too soft . . . if only . . . if only I had more hatred . . . _

He'd repeated those words to himself countless times by now.

He closed his eyes for a moment, shaking the image of Naruto's face, bathed in sunlight, out of his mind, and then disappeared silently into the trees.

xxx

Naruto sighed and flopped back on the grass of the clearing. He was done practicing for today. He looked up at the sky, lit with afternoon sunlight. _Haven't seen Sasuke or Sakura all day . . . I wonder what they're doing . . . _

Springing back up with a grin, he started walking back to the village. _Time to eat some ramen!_

xxx

Sakura snuggled closer to Lee as they stood together, arm in arm on the bridge, looking over the glittering waters of the river. He rested his head against hers, savoring the scent of her hair.

"Remember it's Valentine's Day tomorrow?" the female ninja murmured into her boyfriend's ear.

Lee nodded. "Sakura-chan . . . are you—"

"Of course I'm going to spend it with you, silly!" she exclaimed, taking his shoulders and pulling him closer for a kiss.

"Sakura! Bushy-brow! So this is where you've been!" Naruto's loud voice cut in as the two ninja were about to bring their lips together in a soft kiss. They sprang apart as Naruto dashed onto the bridge and ran up to them.

Lee glared and Sakura crossed her arms with lowered eyebrows. Naruto laughed nervously, realizing that he had just interrupted an intimate moment.

"Ehhh . . . have you guys seen Sasuke?" he asked, shifting his feet.

Lee glared even harder at the mention of his girlfriend's former crush. "NO!" he spat out.

Sakura put a hand on his shoulder and then looked at Naruto, raising one of her eyebrows menacingly. Naruto took the hint and ran away as fast as he could. No need to get beaten up by Sakura before a good bowl of ramen!

xxx

The sun shone brightly in the blue February sky, piercing the heavy darkness of the forest. Sasuke breathed heavily, leaning against the trunk of a tree for support, unable to summon enough energy to make another chidori. _Damn it . . . one more . . . can't I get one more? No, no . . . I'm too weak . . . too weak . . ._ His eyes widened in horror. He looked down at his hands, unable to make fists any longer, fingers burned by the chidori.

The dark-haired ninja let out a groan and fell to his knees. His vision blurred as tears of anger fell on the grass of the clearing. He gritted his teeth and clenched his burned fingers, biting back a cry as daggers of pain shot up his arms.

Sasuke staggered to his feet and closed his eyes, opening them full of determination. "Chidori!" he gasped. The blue-white light buzzed in his palm, flickering.

xxx

Naruto scuffed his feet as he walked along the street, not looking where he was going, deep in thought. He turned a corner and bumped right into Kakashi, who walking the opposite way, reading his book as he did so. The two ignorant ninja fell over in the dust of the road.

"Naruto!" Kakashi said, picking himself up and dusting off his clothes. "How nice to see you this time of day! Although you should watch where you're going . . ."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at his sensei, who gulped, realizing that he had been the one reading the book as he walked. Naruto raised a finger. "Kakashi-sensei, isn't that like the ramen-thief calling Akatsuki corrupt?"

Kakashi laughed. "Naruto, ramen-thieves aren't nearly as corrupt and evil as Akatsuki!"

The hyperactive ninja crossed his arms, his glare silencing the older ninja. "Yes they are! You know what?! I bet Akatsuki organizes systematic ramen-stealing missions!"

Kakashi suppressed a laugh, nodding solemnly at his student.

Naruto tipped his head to the side. "Uh, sensei, do you know where Sasuke is? I can't find him anywhere and—"

"I was just looking for him myself," Kakashi mused. "I was going to go look for him and make sure he got some rest. He's been training so hard these days and I don't want him to exhaust himself. Why do you ask?"

Naruto fidgeted. "Oh, uhhh . . . life is boring without someone to compete with??" It was at least partly true. But the real reason Naruto was so anxious to find Sasuke was that he couldn't stand to be apart from him for too long . . . even fighting with the Uchiha was better than being alone. Because if they fought, Naruto could show Sasuke that he wasn't weak, that he was worthy of . . . something. Naruto couldn't name it.

Kakashi's visible eye became a half-moon as he laughed. "Riiiiiiight…..well, I'm off." He took one step and then spun around again. "Oh! Don't forget—tomorrow's Valentine's Day!" he winked. Turning on his heel, he continued down the street, reading his book as he walked. "Ah, young love . . ." he murmured to himself, laughing a bit evilly. Genin could be so clueless about these things. Especially Naruto and the Uchiha.

A flabbergasted Naruto waved a finger at his retreating form. "WHAT? WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

"Huh? Oh, I just said that there's a new kind of ramen that you'll love!" his sensei explained without missing a beat. The copy-ninja waved to his student and disappeared around a corner, leaving Naruto to growl angrily at his back.

xxx

Lee and Sakura walked hand in hand over the grass in silence. Lee stopped suddenly, looking back at the sun, which was setting behind the bridge, sending needles of orange light over the river. His thoughts were interrupted by Sakura's voice.

"Lee . . . is that Kakashi-sensei? Look!"

Sure enough, a form was dashing out of the shadows of the forest, carrying a bundle of clothes. Both ninja turned in puzzlement as the figure drew closer.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked warily, taking a step toward the forest.

Lee peered into the darkness that was quickly descending on the village. "Kakashi-sensei! That _is _you!"

Kakashi sprinted past the pair of ninja, not stopping for an instant. Lee and Sakura dashed after him, looking closer at what he was holding in his arms; what had looked like a bundle of clothes turned out to be an unconscious Sasuke. The Uchiha's skin was beaded with sweat, but his face was peaceful, as if he was sleeping.

"What happened to Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked worriedly as she ran alongside her sensei. Lee stiffened and lowered his bushy eyebrows.

Kakashi looked down at the ninja in his arms. "He's hurt. He needs to be healed. There's no time to explain." The copy-ninja receded in the distance, leaving the two teenagers to look at each other in confusion.

The two started walking back to the bridge. Sakura took Lee's hand and leaned on his shoulder. "I wonder what happened to Sasuke-kun. It looked . . . bad. I wish I could help."

Lee took a deep breath, gritting his teeth. "Sakura-chan, I'm sorry I always . . . get like this when you mention Sasuke or when Sasuke is _around_ . . . it's just—"

Sakura squeezed him a bit too hard, cutting of his sentence. "I know. It's okay." She smiled up at him but he was still silent, staring across the river. "You know, I think you're waaaaaaay better-looking than Sasuke anyway," Sakura added with a grin.

Lee gaped for ten minutes.

xxx

**A/N: **lol, I have to disagree with Sakura there (I think Sasuke is . . . WAY HOTTER . . . ahem) but a girl can have her opinion, can't she? XD


	2. Distances

**A/N: **I hope my description/explanation of the healing jutsu in this chapter is at least somewhat . . . plausible? Yeah. And this chapter is a bit short so sorry about that.

Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, the poem belongs to Izumi Shikibu (I seriously couldn't write something that good, so it obviously isn't mine! lol) and the fic belongs to me

xxx

I used up this body

longing

for one who does not come.

A deep valley, now,

what once was my heart.

- Izumi Shikibu

Chapter 2 – Distances

Naruto skipped lightheartedly along the torch-lit hallway, holding a bowl of steaming ramen in his hands. He stopped to knock on the door of the Fifth Hokage's study. Tsunade opened it, raising her eyebrows. Naruto sprang in without invitation.

"Hey Grandma Tsunade! Mind if I hang out with you?" Naruto plopped himself down on the couch across from her desk.

Tsunade sighed as she closed the door behind the hyperactive ninja, but nodded, pausing to consider something. "Actually, Naruto," she said with a smirk, "I think I won't do any more work today!" Both blonde ninja smiled brightly at this.

Tsunade sat down across from Naruto. "So, how are you? What's been going on lately?"

Naruto paused with his chop-sticks half-way to his mouth and went into a monologue about the new attacks he had been learning. "But of course the rasengan is the best—it does the most damage," Naruto finished, grinning evilly as he slurped his ramen. "What?" he asked.

A frown had been steadily growing on Tsunade's face as Naruto had been talking. She looked up at the boy in front of her. "Well, it's . . . it's just that ninja learn how to attack, harm, and _kill_, but hardly any time is devoted to healing jutsu . . ."

"Hn?" Naruto tipped his head to the side.

Gradually, a determined look had come into Tsunade's eyes. "I'm going to teach you, Naruto. You're going to learn the basic healing jutsu used for cuts, torn muscle, and burns." She grinned, pleased with this idea.

Naruto's eyes widened in amazement. "Yeah! Okay!" He jumped up and grinned. "I'm ready to learn it, Grandma Tsunade!"

The Fifth Hokage smiled and opened her palm, which glowed blue with chakra. "This jutsu involves concentrating chakra and moving it back and forth in a steady pattern. In a way it is similar to the rasengan. The gentle movement of the chakra speeds up the body's processes of healing, making it possible for new skin to grow quickly over cuts or burns."

"Wow, Grandma Tsunade! That's so cool!" Naruto said excitedly, bouncing up and down on the couch.

Tsunade nodded and continued. "This jutsu will come in handy, believe me. Healing is more important than hurting, and when those you love are in danger, you will want to do everything you can to protect them . . ." The Hokage smiled sadly, staring out the window for a moment before turning back to Naruto and giving him an encouraging smile. "Let me see you try it."

xxx

Hinata stood at the window of her room, gazing out at the village as evening shadows deepened. She looked down at the picture of Naruto Uzumaki in her hands. The glass over the picture glinted faintly as she clutched the frame.

A myriad of thoughts whirled in her mind like leaves in a storm—there were too many emotions for her to process. Admiration for Naruto, loneliness, longing to be accepted and loved.

Hinata put the picture down and turned away from the window. The gloomy Hyuuga sat down on the side of her bed, fiddling with her fingers. She sighed. Tomorrow was Valentine's Day. Just another day she was treated like a ghost, just another day no one cared about her. Hinata turned off the lights and climbed into bed, pulling the covers up and turning her cheek to the pillow. Silent tears dampened the cloth, the only sound the ticking of the clock.

xxx

Naruto walked along the hallway from the Hokage's study, thinking about the healing jutsu and Tsunade's words. _Healing is more important than hurting, and when those you love are in danger, you will want to do everything you can to protect them . . ._

The blonde ninja looked down at his palm, concentrating chakra in the flowing pattern Tsunade had described. He had learned the jutsu easily; it was very similar to the rasengan. The difference was the way in which the chakra moved. The rasengan was a quick, spinning motion while the healing jutsu was slow, like the patterns of waves on the shore. Tsunade had said that he had to be very careful to control the chakra or it could turn into a kind of weak rasengan that could destroy muscle or tissue.

Naruto continued down the hall, hands behind his head. _I've just been taught a jutsu by the Hokage herself! _He grinned. Suddenly, a form appeared out of the darkness of the weak torchlight. Naruto sprang into a fighting stance, drawing his kunai knife.

"Naruto!"

The blonde ninja tipped his head to the side in puzzlement. "Hn?"

The form drew closer. It was Kakashi . . . and he was carrying something . . . a body? Naruto's eyes widened as he realized who it was. The copy-ninja continued up the hall to the Hokage's door, motioning for Naruto to follow. The blonde ninja dashed after his sensei.

"What happened to Sasuke? Kakashi-sensei! What happened?!"

The masked ninja knocked on the Hokage's door and didn't answer. Tsunade opened it, eyes widening in shock. She beckoned for them both to come in.

Naruto hopped up and down impatiently. "What's going on? What happened to Sasuke?! Just tell me already!"

Kakashi sat down in resignation as Tsunade moved the Uchiha's body to a folding hospital bed. "Alright, Naruto, I'll explain. Sasuke over-trained. I think he tried to force himself to make another chidori and he had too little chakra left. I'm not sure what that did to his arms, but I know they need healing. When chakra is forced through the chakra network, muscle can be tom and there is often internal bleeding and some burning."

Tsunade placed a hand on Sasuke's arm. "You're right, Kakashi. His muscle has been torn badly, especially around the wrist, his arms are bruised, and his palms are badly burned. He must have fainted from the pain."

Naruto winced. "That doesn't sound good."

Kakashi gave his student a glare as if to say 'well, duh' and turned to Tsunade. "I think we need to teach Naruto a basic healing jutsu—he's a fast learner, he could help out."

Tsunade smirked. "It happens that I already taught him a basic healing jutsu."

Kakashi's visibly eye widened in amazement. "Oh! Well then, let's get started. Do you have everything you need here?" he asked.

Tsunade nodded. "I keep emergency supplies in my office just in case." She turned to Naruto. "Naruto, I need you to take Sasuke's shirt off and wash his arms. Here, use this cloth." The Hokage handed him a basin of water and a towel and went to get bandages and ointment out of the closet behind her desk.

Naruto walked over to the form of his rival. He blushed as he took out his kunai knife and cut Sasuke's shirt, drawing it out from under his sleeping body. He took the damp towel and washed the ninja's bruised arms.

He stood there lamely, looking at the dark-haired ninja's calm face. The boy appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Then Sasuke stirred and a small cry of pain escaped his lips. Naruto breathed in sharply. Without thinking, the he sat down on the side of the bed, putting one hand on the Uchiha's forehead and the other around his shoulders. His lips were close to Sasuke's ear. "Don't worry—this will be over soon, Sasuke," Naruto promised to the unconscious ninja. The boy in his arms sighed and turned his face to rest against Naruto's arm. The blonde ninja gasped, realizing how close they were, shivering as Sasuke's hand closed around his.

_What is he doing?_ Naruto asked himself in panic, instinctively tightening his grip on the other boy's hand. Sasuke cried out and Naruto pulled away immediately, revealing new blood on the Uchiha's burned palm. Sasuke was still sleeping, but his eyebrows where furrowed in pain. Naruto cursed, wishing he had been gentler.

_I hate to see Sasuke like this . . . _

His eyes widened as he remembered Tsunade's words_ . . . when those you love are in danger, you will want to do everything you can to protect them . . _.

Naruto gently extricated himself from the unconscious body of his rival. _But I don't love Sasuke. I don't, I don't . . . _he repeated to himself.

Tsunade and Kakashi came back from the closet, carrying bandages and ointment. "We need to heal Sasuke as quickly as possible," the Hokage said. "He's going to wake up soon and with luck we'll be able to stop his pain before then."

Naruto's chest tightened at the thought of seeing Sasuke in more pain.

xxx


	3. Tension

**A/N: **for those of you who have stuck with me this far, first I'd like to say THANK YOU! You're awesome. Second, this fic is going to be pretty long – around 10 chapters or something. So it won't be over any time soon! But again, chapters are kind of short. And sorry that there isn't any more Shika or Hinata in this chapter. Don't worry, it'll come back!

Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, and the poem belongs to Fran Walsh, but the fic is mine

xxx

With a sigh you turn away,

With a deepening heart, no more words to say.

You will find that the world has changed forever.

And the trees are now turning from green to gold,

And the sun is now fading.

I wish I could hold you

Closer.

- Fran Walsh

Chapter 3 – Tension

Naruto and Tsunade moved their hands over Sasuke's bruised arms, chakra glowing blue as it bled into his skin. Kakashi sat at the end of the hospital bed, watching anxiously. He had already used up most of his chakra. All he could do was wait until the Uchiha was able to be moved to the hospital wing.

The copy-ninja looked out the window. Everything was completely black. The sun had set and all stains of light had been swallowed in the gloom. Suddenly, Kakashi's head snapped back to look at the unconscious Sasuke. Naruto had noticed it too—the Uchiha's eyes were flickering open.

The Hokage and the blonde ninja paused as Sasuke opened his eyes. He tried to sit up, but Naruto took him firmly by the shoulders and lowered him back onto the pillow. The dark-haired ninja struggled at first, but stern looks from his sensei and the Hokage discouraged his efforts.

Tsunade put a hand on the Uchiha's arm. "Your muscles were torn badly and your arms and hands were burned and bruised, but you are almost completely healed now. Your healing went this quickly thanks to your team-mate here."

Sasuke glared murderously up at Naruto, who grinned uneasily and put his arms behind his head.

Tsunade coughed to get their attention. "We still need to finish healing you, Sasuke, so be patient."

Sasuke gazed angrily up at his rival as the blonde ninja took his arm again, moving his hand over it as he concentrated chakra in his palm. Naruto tried to ignore the Uchiha's stare, but Sasuke wouldn't look away.

Naruto kept his eyes downcast, focusing on the healing jutsu, but he found that this was also distracting. For the first time, the blonde ninja noticed how soft his rival's skin was. He faltered, blushing at the feeling of his hand against Sasuke's arm. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve, replacing his look of concentration with one of boredom. _I can't look worried, I'm not worried, I don't care about this stupid Uchiha, I don't care if he get's hurt . . . _Naruto tried to clear his mind, but he realized with anger that the idea of Sasuke being in any more pain put his stomach in turmoil.

Sasuke was still staring at Naruto, determined not to show any emotion besides disgust. The feeling of Naruto's gentle hands on his arm was torturing the poor Uchiha. He gritted his teeth, angrier than ever at his weakness. _Naruto healing me . . . I never thought of anything more humiliating . . . now he knows I'm weak, he knows . . . he knows I'm worthless. He looks disdainful! To him, I'm just something to take care of, to protect . . . _For a second, Sasuke remembered that he wouldn't mind being protected if he had Naruto's love or even just Naruto's acceptance. The Uchiha closed his eyes and growled in annoyance.

"There, you're done." the Fifth Hokage announced, taking her hands off the dark-haired ninja's other arm.

Sasuke opened his eyes and sat up in bed. It was then that he realized his shirt was gone. He blushed with embarrassment. Sliding his feet over the edge of the hospital bed, he got up, leaning on the wall for support. Suddenly, the Uchiha's legs shook and his vision swam before his eyes. He stumbled, barely catching himself against the wall.

"Sasuke!"

Naruto rushed over to hold the Uchiha in his arms, supporting the embarrassed ninja in his embrace. Sasuke shivered at the touch and pushed his rival away angrily, falling to the floor with a grimace. "Get away from me, Naruto!" the dark-haired ninja snarled in a rough whisper.

Naruto glared down at Sasuke, lips slightly parted over his clenched teeth. Kakashi and Tsunade rolled their eyes at the angry ninjas before them, who were still glaring hatefully at each other. The Hokage dragged the Uchiha to his feet, keeping a firm grip on his shoulder. "I need to take Sasuke to the hospital wing," she told the other two ninja. "Kakashi, bring that basket." Tsunade pointed to a basket she had filled with bandages and ointment. "Naruto, help me with Sasuke."

The Uchiha in question wrenched his shoulder out of Tsunade's grasp. "I don't need any help!" he spat, scowling at Naruto. The dark-haired ninja coughed and then straightened, stalking towards the door and flinging it open.

Kakashi, Naruto and Tsunade followed the angry ninja down the hallway. Tsunade stopped and pointed to a door. "This room will do."

Sasuke turned around and crossed his arms over his bare chest. "I don't need to spend the night here. I'm leaving."

Kakashi lowered his visible eyebrow with worry, muttering to himself.

Naruto clenched his fists and dashed after the Uchiha, standing in his way and poking a finger at the air in front of his face. "You can't leave. Don't you understand?! You need to rest! You hurt YOURSELF! And I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Sasuke put a hand on Naruto's shoulder and tried to shove him out of the way, but his rival merely took his wrist and pulled him into his arms, picking him up and carrying him back to the door of the room. Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief. If Sasuke had gotten away from the three of them, he would have hurt himself even more. The copy-ninja opened the door to the room and held it back for Naruto and Tsunade.

Sasuke growled, struggling to escape from Naruto's arms, but the Uchiha stopped as coughs shook his body. Naruto softened his hold, looking down with worry into his eyes. He set the boy down on the bed, arranging the pillows under his midnight-black hair. The blonde ninja turned back to his sensei and the Hokage. "Why is he coughing, Grandma Tsunade? Kakashi-sensei?" The look of worry in Naruto's eyes softened the Hokage's heart.

Tsunade sat down on the side of the bed and placed a hand on Sasuke's chest. She closed her eyes briefly and turned around to face the other two ninja. "There's something I missed. It seems that the center of his chakra network was strained as well. This isn't good. This isn't good at all! I'm surprised he hasn't started coughing up blood."

Kakashi sat down in a chair by the bed, his visible eyebrow furrowed in alarm. Naruto looked horrified. "Do something, Grandma Tsunade! Do something QUICKLY!!" he wrung his hands and paced restlessly as Tsunade concentrated chakra in both the palms of her hands and placed them on the middle of the Uchiha's stomach.

Suddenly, the Fifth Hokage gasped. The blue glow of her chakra had disappeared. Naruto spun around.

"What is it, Lady Tsunade?" Kakashi asked with a sense of foreboding.

"I'm out of chakra!"

"WHAT?" Naruto's eyes were as big as bowls of ramen.

"I must have used up all my chakra on the healing we did before!" the Hokage explained in exasperation.

"Oh no! What can we do?!" Naruto exclaimed melodramatically, holding his head in his hands in panic.

Kakashi stood up and put a calming hand on his student's shoulder. "Naruto, you'll have to heal Sasuke—you know the healing jutsu and that's all you need."

Naruto mouth fell open as his sensei's words hit him. "Me?!" he asked.

Kakashi nodded impatiently. "Look, we don't have much time, Naruto!"

Tsunade moved away from the side of the bed to make room for the young blonde ninja. Naruto sat down and placed a cautious hand on Sasuke's stomach. The Uchiha shuddered at his touch, looking away as a faint tinge of pink crept into his cheeks. Naruto concentrated chakra in his palm and pressed down on the ninja's soft skin.

Tsunade and Kakashi watched anxiously as the blonde ninja worked, wincing as Sasuke's chest began to heave with coughs. Naruto immediately wrapped his arms around the Uchiha and pulled him into a sitting position. Sasuke's arms intuitively circled his rival's neck as he clung to the blonde ninja for support.

The Uchiha's breathing gradually quieted. Naruto could feel Sasuke's heart beating against his. The wounded ninja was staring straight ahead, trying to convince himself that he couldn't feel the warmth of Naruto's hands around his body. He shivered as the blonde ninja lowered him slowly back into the bed.

Naruto turned his head to look up at his sensei and the Hokage. "He shouldn't be lying down—we need to prop him up." The three ninja moved the pillows behind Sasuke, raising his upper body.

Naruto finished healing the dark-haired ninja and Tsunade took the bandages out of the basket and sat down on the side of the bed, wrapping the white cloth around Sasuke's stomach. The Uchiha's arms no longer looked purple with bruises and his palms where white with new skin. Nonetheless, the Hokage smoothed ointment on his hands and bandaged his wrists and forearms.

She stood up and turned to the other two ninja. "Sasuke's injuries have been completely healed but I still want you, Naruto, to stay and keep watch over him."

Kakashi nodded at Tsunade in agreement.

"Huh?" Naruto tipped his head to the side. "Why does he need to be watched? I thought he was healed now."

Kakashi looked down at the Uchiha. He motioned for the other ninja to follow him out into the hall. Once outside, the copy-ninja turned to them. "Sasuke hurt himself because he thinks that he's . . . he thinks he's not strong enough. He wants himself to be stronger, so he pushed himself to his limit. There's no reason for us to believe that his feelings have changed. We need to be careful. _I don't want Sasuke to hurt himself again_."

Naruto's eyes widened. _Sasuke feels worthless? But . . . that's ridiculous . . . he's stronger than . . . everyone. _The blonde ninja looked down. _I'm the worthless one— I'm the one who needs to prove himself!_

Naruto clenched his teeth, but then paused, remembering . . ._ I don't want Sasuke to hurt himself again . . . _

Kakashi's words echoed in his mind.

His sensei placed a hand on his shoulder. "We need you to stay and watch Sasuke, Naruto. As the Hokage, Tsunade can't afford to lose sleep and I'm leaving on an important mission tonight."

"What about Sakura? Couldn't _she_ do it?" an embarrassed Naruto pleaded. The idea of being stuck in a room with Sasuke all night made him nervous.

Kakashi shook his head. "Sakura is . . . busy."

"Busy?"

"Ehhh . . . yeah . . . um, remember when you first started healing Sasuke and I went off to see if I could find her?" Naruto nodded. His sensei had gone to find the pink-haired kunoichi at one point because the girl would be able to help them, unlike other medic ninjas who would be too busy working at the hospital. "Well, she was having an important conversation. I didn't want to interrupt."

"What was it about?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

Kakashi fluttered his eyelashes, placed a hand over his heart, and said in a high voice, "Oh Lee! I love you! Will you be mine forever?!" The ninja folded his arms and raised his visible eyebrow. "Yeah, of course she said more stuff too . . . I didn't want to interrupt them . . . it would have been kind of awkward."

Tsunade smiled, laughing a little. Naruto squinched up his face, wincing visibly. "Oh. Yeah. Um, okay, I guess I'll stay with Sasuke then. I would _not _want to interrupt Sakura in the middle of making out with Lee!" he explained, shaking his head vigorously. "She'd kill me a thousand times over."

The Hokage turned to him, laughing slightly. "Well, thank you for staying with Sasuke, Naruto. We'll see you tomorrow then!" She turned and walked away down the hallway with Kakashi. "Goodnight!" she called to Naruto, disappearing around the corner.

The blonde ninja took a deep breath and opened the door to Sasuke's room.

xxx

Naruto opened the door to the hospital room, preparing himself for the verbal beating he was about to get from Sasuke. Sure enough, the Uchiha's angry voice burst out as soon as he saw his rival.

"NARUTO! What the hell are you doing here again? Why don't you just go away for once and leave me in peace?!" the dark-haired ninja seethed.

Naruto closed the door behind him and crossed his arms, glaring back at Sasuke. "I have to stay and make sure you don't need anything. You're still in bad shape, you know."

Sasuke growled with anger, trying to sit up. He gasped in pain and fell back on the pillows, chest heaving with the effort. Naruto's eyes widened anxiously, but he turned his back on the Uchiha, suppressing the urge to hold Sasuke in his arms.

_I don't care about him . . . I don't . . ._

Sasuke cursed as flickers of pain ran through his chest, turning on his side to look out the window into the darkness. He tried to ignore his rival, who was sitting down in the chair by his bedside. Naruto started humming a tune and tapping his feet on the floor.

"SHUT UP!" Sasuke yelled, hitting the pillows in anger.

Naruto shut up but glared in resentment.

xxx

It was late at night and everything was silent. Naruto didn't remember falling asleep, but he knew he had once he woke with a start. He had slipped down from the chair he had been sitting in while he slept. His elbow now rested on the seat, his body sprawled across the cold stone of the room's floor.

The blonde ninja got up sleepily, massaging the stiffness out of his back. He looked over at the bed where Sasuke was sleeping, lids closed and hair spread over the pillows. The covers came up to the Uchiha's waist but the pale skin of his chest was bare. Naruto smiled as he studied the sleeping form of his rival. The dark-haired ninja glowed faintly in the moonlight that fell softly through the window, the curves and angles of his body highlighted in the faint illumination.

Naruto realized that he had unconsciously walked closer to the sleeping ninja. He was startled out of his daze as Sasuke turned over, face contorted as he muttered loudly in his sleep.

"Itachi!" the Uchiha murmured, clenching his fists. Naruto backed away from the dark-haired ninja in alarm.

"Why . . . WHY . . . _my own brother_ . . ." the sleeping ninja whispered.

Naruto twitched. Suddenly, he had the strange desire to comfort Sasuke for some reason. The funny thing was he'd imagined Sasuke saying the exact words the Uchiha had just uttered in his sleep, wondering if the Sasuke really had nightmares. Naruto had laughed at the thought. But now, he realized that it was far from funny.

The blonde ninja decided that it didn't matter and climbed into bed, putting his arms around Sasuke's shoulders. Naruto held the sleeping ninja until he quieted and lay still, breathing gently.

He looked down at the Uchiha, moving his hands farther around the boy's body and snuggling closer. _Damn it . . . I think I might kind of like him, _Naruto realized in horror. _No, _he corrected himself, _I really love the bastard, don't I? _He hid his face in Sasuke's dark hair as a furious blush spread across his cheeks.

_I guess tomorrow's the perfect day to tell him then . . ._ _because tomorrow's Valentine's Day, dattebayo! _Naruto hugged the dark-haired ninja again and let himself fall asleep like that—with his arms around his rival.

xxx


	4. Valentine's Day Morning

**A/N: **w00t. this chapter has one of my favorite scenes in it – it's the one with Naruto and Sasuke! Hope you enjoy it. By the way, I made a parody of _The Way You Do The Things You Do _by The Temptations (they're a Motown singing group from the 60s and I absolutely love them) and Lee sings that parody in this chapter. I love embarrassing Lee, it's so easy! And so fun! muwahaha

Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto (. . . seriously, how many times do I have to say this . . .) because if _I_ owned Naruto, NaruSasu would be so cannon that it would scare even me, and half of all the screen-time would be taken by various shirtless shinobi . . . XD

The poem belongs to Ono no Komachi and the fic is mine.

xxx

The autumn night

is long only in name—

We've done no more

than gaze at each other

and it's already dawn.

- Ono no Komachi

Chapter 4 – Valentine's Day Morning

Sakura yawned and stretched her arms over her head. _It's Valentine's Day today! _she remembered with a smile. Climbing out of bed, she went to get dressed. Then she skipped out of her room, waved goodbye to her parents, and closed the front door behind her.

She immediately bumped into Lee, who was standing directly in front of her door.

"If I do not . . . get to Sakura's house . . . before she wakes up . . . I will compose . . . a love song . . . and sing it to her . . ." Lee panted.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the ninja before her. "Lee, why would you want to get to my house before I woke up?"

"To give you breakfast in bed, Sakura-chan!" Lee said as he saluted the pink-haired ninja.

Sakura giggled and hugged him tightly. Lee's eyelids dropped woefully, remembering the promise he'd made to himself. _If I do not get to Sakura's house before she wakes up I will compose a love song and sing it to her . . . _

"Sakura-chan, I have something to tell you."

"Hn?"

Lee closed his eyes in embarrassment. "I just composed a song for you."

xxx

Sasuke's vision was blurred by sleep, but the stuff in front of his half-closed eyes looked a lot like spiky yellow hair . . . he tried to stretch his arms, but they wouldn't move. Panicking, the Uchiha's eyes shot open. Looking down, he realized a sleeping Naruto was hugging him, arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Sasuke's arms were completely pinned to his sides. He blushed furiously and struggled to free himself, but Naruto only snuggled closer.

"Hn . . . Sasuke . . . you awake?"

Sasuke shivered. His rival's lips where pressed against his collar bone, and the brainless idiot didn't have the sensitivity to move them as he talked. Naruto's body was so deliciously warm and Sasuke suddenly felt so cold . . .

The Uchiha shuddered as Naruto hugged him closer. The blonde ninja's hand ran across Sasuke's back, making him twitch.

_Where the hell is my shirt?! I still don't have it? Where did it go?!_

Naruto snickered sleepily. "You're ticklish, Sasuke. I never knew that before."

"NO I'M NOT!" the Uchiha fumed, his efforts to escape completely discouraged by his rival's firm hold around his waist. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" the dark-haired ninja asked in outrage.

"Snuggling," Naruto stated innocently.

"SNUGGLING??" Sasuke shrieked in horror.

Naruto yawned sleepily in response, running a finger through the Uchiha's hair. Sasuke growled in irritation.

"Let go of me, Naruto! NOW! And stop messing with my hair!" _I can't stand this any longer . . . this is torture . . ._

"But why? You're hair is so soft . . ."

"Ugh! Let go!" the Uchiha snarled.

Naruto reluctantly withdrew his arms from around Sasuke's body. The dark-haired ninja sprang away, delighted at having his arms free at last.

_I can't let this happen again . . . when I'm that close to him I lose my mind . . . what if I had told him everything? I was so close . . . so close to giving in . . . because I'm weak . . . I can't let it happen . . . _Sasuke panted, thoughts swarming in confusion through his mind.

Naruto slipped out of bed and opened the door, turning to Sasuke. "I'm going to get some breakfast. You stay here. I'll get some for both of us. I love having breakfast in bed!" The blonde ninja skipped away.

The Uchiha's mouth fell open as Naruto closed the door behind him.

_WHAAAAAAAT? I'm going to have breakfast in bed with NARUTO?_

The overwhelmed ninja fell back on the pillows, holding his head in his hands, eyes glazed over with a strange emotion. It was a mixture of bliss, terror, humiliation and glee.

xxx

Lee gulped. "Just so you know, I'm kind of making this up on the spot . . ." The ninja's eyes darted nervously across Sakura's face. He took a deep breath and burst into song.

"You've got a mind so sharp, you know you could have been a kunai . . ." Lee began. Sakura hugged him excitedly. "You're holding me so tight, you know you could have been a hair-tie . . . Well, you could have been anything that you wanted to. And I can tell, the way you do the things you do. The way you do the things you do!" He finished dramatically with a flourish.

A second later the two ninja sprang apart as they heard a loud clapping noise behind them.

"Lee! What a fabulous performance! Ah, the spring of youth . . ." a voice said. The ninja that it belonged to gave a thumbs up and grinned widely, teeth sparkling in the morning sunlight.

"Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaimed.

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Ga—"

Sakura thumped Lee over the head before he could finish and hugged him again. "Lee! That was amazing and so sweet!" she said, beaming up at him. Sakura had always been a sucker for that style of singing. Lee's bad rhymes didn't bother her at all. Hasn't it been said that love is blind? Then love is most certainly also deaf.

But suddenly, she whirled around.

"NARUTO?!"

Sure enough, the blonde ninja was leaning against the wall of a nearby building. He had been watching the whole scene. "Hn, I should compose some poetry for Sasuke . . ." Naruto mused, completely disregarding the fact that the Uchiha would be mortified. He flinched and hid behind Gai-sensei when he noticed Sakura's glare. "Hey Sakura . . ." He smiled nervously. "Please don't get mad at me! Just because I liked you when we were back at the Academy doesn't mean you have to give me that scary look every single time we see each other . . ." _That is such a scary look . . . eeek . . . seriously, why won't she stop? This is creeping me out . . ._

Sakura continued to glare and Lee's mouth fell open in shock. "YOU LIKED SAKURA-CHAN?!" the dark-haired ninja gasped. He muttered angrily to himself and clenched his fists. Sakura was secretly laughing at his reaction. Hadn't it been obvious that Naruto liked her? Poor Lee had been so oblivious.

Meanwhile, Naruto was backing away from the pair. "Please! Please! You both can calm down! I only liked Sakura because I wanted attention! And besides, I like someone else now!" the ninja pleaded.

"Who?!" Sakura and Lee asked immediately, eyes wide with interest.

Naruto fidgeted. "Ehhh . . . I like . . . uh, I like . . . INO!" _They'll never suspect that I'm lying . . . hehe . . ._

Sakura raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Riiiiiiight."

Naruto laughed nervously. _Damn it, I was wrong._ "Well, I'm off to get breakfast! See ya!" He disappeared down the street in a cloud of dust.

xxx

Sasuke lay in bed, looking out the window as the sunlight streamed into the room. He ran his fingers over the skin of his back where Naruto had rested his hand earlier. _Why was Naruto acting so . . . strange . . . earlier this morning? Why was he being so friendly? _The Uchiha's eyebrows lowered. _I know why . . . _the dark-haired ninja muttered to himself. _He knows I'm weak and he doesn't . . . accept me as a rival anymore . . . _The despondent Uchiha let out a moan of despair and buried his face in the pillow.

Sasuke heard the door open and his head shot up immediately. He realized his cheeks were wet with tears. But it was too late—Naruto had seen his face.

The blond ninja set down the tray of food and rushed over to the bed. "Sasuke! What happened? Why are you crying?"

The Uchiha blinked. "I'm not crying. And nothing happened, you idiot. Leave me alone."

Naruto snorted. "I know you were crying. Don't try to deny it." He pointed a finger at the Uchiha's face.

Sasuke glared and turned over, trying to ignore the blonde ninja. Naruto was silent. And then . . .

"Was it about your dream?" he asked quietly.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MY DREAM?!" Sasuke screamed, whirling around.

Naruto backed up against the door as the Uchiha advanced on him, face livid with anger.

"I . . . uh . . . errr . . . kind of heard you talking in your sleep last night . . ."

"WHAT?"

"You were saying something about Itachi and stuff and you sounded really sad so I just figured I'd comfort you . . ."

Sasuke bristled. "I DON'T NEED YOUR COMFORT! I don't need anyone! Now GET OUT!"

Naruto gulped. "I have to keep watch over you, Sasuke. I can't leave!"

"DID YOU HEAR ME? GET OUT! I don't want to talk to you! You're just some brainless, hyperactive LOSER!"

Naruto stared at Sasuke. _He really hates me, doesn't he . . . I didn't know how much he hated me before. He thinks I'm completely worthless . . ._

Naruto gritted his teeth and looked up at the Uchiha. "Oh yeah?" he growled. "WELL YOU'RE JUST SOME STUCK-UP, CONCEITED BASTARD!"

To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke simply turned around and climbed back into bed, turning to look out the window.

"Sasuke?!" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"Leave me alone, Naruto. Go find Sakura or something. I don't want to talk to you."

"Don't you know that Sakura is Lee's girlfriend? And besides, I don't like her anymore."

Sasuke shifted himself so that he was lying on his stomach. His head was still turned away from Naruto. "Well, go find some loser who actually wants to talk to you then."

Naruto folded his arms. Sasuke was acting weird. The blonde ninja went over to sit on the Uchiha's bed._ I don't know how, but I need to tell him about . . . uh . . . what I realized last night . . ._ Naruto thought to himself. He would not be discouraged by the Uchiha's outburst moments before. He placed a gentle hand on the back of Sasuke's shoulder.

"Sasu—"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" The Uchiha spun around.

"Uh . . ." the blonde ninja faltered. Sasuke was on his back now and Naruto's hand was lying on the soft skin of the Uchiha's chest. Naruto blushed.

"IT'S VALENTINE'S DAY! I DON'T WANT THE PERSON I HATE THE MOST IN THE ENTIRE WORLD IN MY ROOM!" Sasuke shouted. Strangely enough, he didn't try to move Naruto's hand. Without thinking, the blonde ninja put his hands on both of the Uchiha's shoulders.

Sasuke shivered.

"Even if I composed a poem for you?"

"You composed . . . a poem . . . for me?" the Uchiha asked in astonishment, forgetting to be angry for a moment.

Naruto winced, standing up and putting his arms behind his head. He grinned uncomfortably. "Yeah, I composed a poem for you . . ."

Sasuke clapped a hand over his mouth, sitting up and choking with laughter. Naruto glared at the Uchiha as the dark-haired ninja got out of bed. "I'm not going to recite it for you, you bastard." He looked away. _Damn it, why doesn't he put a shirt on or something . . ._

Sasuke stopped laughing and put his hands on his hips. There was an unmistakable glint in his eye. "What— are you _scared_, Naruto?" the Uchiha turned his back on the blonde ninja and looked out the window, smirking. "You're such a loser . . ."

Naruto gritted his teeth and hopped angrily back and forth on his feet. "Oh yeah? Well, fine! I'll recite the poem." The blonde ninja paced, face squinched with discomfort. "All right, here goes . . .

Sasuke turned immediately, arms crossed, eyes challenging. Naruto gulped. _Not only does he look intimidating, he looks distractingly . . . beautiful . . ._

Naruto slapped his forehead, shutting his eyes in horror. "No, no, no, NO!" he groaned. _This isn't good, I can't let this happen . . . I can't get distracted by that bastard . . ._

Sasuke raised one dark eyebrow in puzzlement at the sight before him. "Well?" he prompted his rival.

Naruto took a deep breath and gulped again, but this time he grinned winningly afterwards, making Sasuke flinch nervously.

"Sharingan is red . . ." Naruto held Sasuke's eyes with his gaze, and he didn't look like he had any intention of looking away. "Your hair is blue . . ." The blonde ninja was still staring mesmerizingly at the Uchiha, who frowned and touched his hair with unease. "Ramen is hot . . . and so are you . . ."

Naruto didn't blush. He looked completely serious.

Sasuke's mouth fell open in shock. It stayed like that for a minute. Then the Uchiha's fists clenched in anger. "You LOSER, what kind of joke IS this?!"

Naruto stepped closer to the astounded Uchiha and pouted unnervingly. "It's no joke, Sasuke-kun!" the blonde said in an imitation of Sakura's voice.

Sasuke took a step backward, but realized too late that he was trapped against the wall. He glared at the boy before him. _Wait . . . is Naruto . . . SMIRKING?_

Naruto was definitely smirking. He put a gentle hand on the Uchiha's shoulder. Sasuke grabbed the blonde ninja's wrist and held it tightly in his grip. Naruto did not seem discouraged, however. He simply stood in front of Sasuke, looking into the dark-haired ninja's eyes.

Sasuke held his gaze, determined not to look away, trying to see into the other ninja's mind . . . _Why is he acting so STRANGE?! It's as if he cares about me . . . _The Uchiha felt his heart skip a beat. _Those beautiful eyes . . . no, no, I can't let myself be distracted by him! _

_What is he thinking . . ._

Suddenly, Sasuke realized that Naruto's gaze had grown sad, almost longing . . . before he realized what he was doing, he grabbed Naruto's wrist and pulled the blonde ninja close. He wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist and shoulders and kissed him on the lips.

xxx

**A/N: **Ah, Sasuke's blue hair makes me laugh. Seriously, what was Kishimoto thinking making him with DARK BLUE HAIR? Not that I object! I love my Sasuke-kun! hugs

I hope you all liked Lee's love song and Naruto's poem. Please review!

**Next time: **Shika and Hinata are back! And so is Kakashi. Don't kill me for the next chapter . . . please?! It's just that you shouldn't expect that everything will be fine and dandy now that Idiot and Bastard have kissed. Far from it, let me tell you.

Far from it.


	5. Sacrifices

**A/N:** Shikamaru is back! And our little Hinata is blushing! o.O do I sense a bit of a _crush _from the shy Hyuuga? Yes, I do.

lol, Shika is such a stalker in this chapter.

Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, the poem is Izumi Shikibu's, and the fic is mine. Oh, one more thing - beware the Sasuke angst! I'm sorry, I really am . . .

xxx

Since nothing surpasses

seeing you,

no need for words.

Only concentrate on this,

on this . . .

- Izumi Shikibu

Chapter 5 – Sacrifices

Hinata decided to eat breakfast alone, out at a restaurant. She didn't want to have to talk to anyone or run into anyone, since she knew, or told herself, that they didn't want to pay attention to her anyway. So she left home and walked to her favorite café.

Little did she know, but a pair of lazy eyes was watching her from the shadows.

Shikamaru had waited for her to open the front door, and when she came out, he had followed her to the restaurant. He ordered something himself and then sat down to wait until she finished eating.

The dark-haired ninja tapped his feet, willing himself not to look over at the Hyuuga. It seemed that eternity passed, and finally Shikamaru took a deep breath and glanced up at Hinata. She was sitting over by the window of the restaurant. She had finished eating breakfast a while ago and she was just staring out at the street, head propped on her hands.

Shikamaru took a hesitant step toward her. "Hinata?" he asked quietly.

"Sh-shikam-maru-kun?" Hinata whispered and instantly got to her feet, hands clasped in front of her nervously.

"Uh, I just wanted to give you this . . . since it's Valentine's Day and . . . um, here . . ." The awkward ninja offered the envelope to Hinata hastily.

An outrageous blush spread across the Hyuuga's face as she read the card. "Shikamaru-k-kun . . . I . . ." she stuttered, eyes wide.

Shikamaru fiddled and looked down at his feet. "So . . . um . . . what do you think?"

Hinata blushed. "Yes . . . um, I would love to . . ."

Shikamaru tried to conceal his sigh of relief but failed miserably. "Great! I'll see you at noon then!"

Hinata nodded and looked down. Shikamaru waved as he walked away from the stunned Hyuuga. "Bye, Sh-shikamaru-kun . . ." she whispered, still stunned. _He . . . wants to spend time with me? _Hinata smiled into her hands. She turned to look out the window at Shikamaru's receding form and sighed. Suddenly the sun seemed brighter and the sky bluer. Everything seemed more alive.

_He cares about me . . . at least a little . . ._

xxx

The Uchiha felt Naruto's arms slowly encircling his body and he gasped, pulling away from the kiss. The smirk was gone from Naruto's eyes. The blonde ninja stared up at Sasuke, completely lost in the Uchiha's gaze.

Naruto removed one of his hands from around Sasuke's waist and ran his finger along the Uchiha's jaw. The dark-haired ninja closed his eyes, his whole body trembling at the touch. Suddenly, he scowled and pushed Naruto away from him.

The blonde ninja growled in annoyance. "Sasuke, what is it?"

Sasuke turned away and then whirled back again. "Naruto—"

The blonde ninja slammed the door angrily. He was gone.

Sasuke fell to his knees. "I'm sorry. . ." he whispered to the empty room. _What have I done? Why did I push him away? Is it because I'm afraid? _The Uchiha closed his eyes. _I'm afraid of losing him . . . I'm afraid he doesn't really love me . . . BUT WHY DID I DO THAT?_ _Why, WHY . . . Even if he doesn't love me . . . why did I have to push him away? Even if he's just playing with me . . ._

Sasuke groaned and fell back on the cold stone of the floor, unaware of everything but the burning feeling in his chest. He didn't feel the hot tears that poured down his face to pool on the stone floor.

xxx

A furious Naruto slammed the door to the hospital room and ran down the hallway until he came out in the bright sunlight. He kicked the wall in anger. "OW!" he shrieked, hopping up and down in pain, holding his toe.

"Naruto, that wasn't very smart of you . . ." a voice commented from behind him.

The blonde ninja whirled around, eyes widening in astonishment. "Kakashi-sensei? I thought you were on a mission! What are you doing here?"

The masked ninja laughed. "Oh, I lied about that."

"WHAT?!"

"You heard me, Naruto. I lied about the mission. I knew you wanted to stay with Sasuke, I just had to give you a little push, so I made up a reason that excused me," Kakashi explained, eye a smiling half-moon. "Come on, Naruto. Admit it. You're glad you got to stay with him."

Naruto just stared at his sensei. It was all true, but . . .

"Look, I know you like him, Naruto. More than normal. I knew that even before you knew it yourself."

Naruto sat down dejectedly against the wall. "Okay, I admit it!" he groaned, blushing. "But sensei, I _know _that Sasuke hates me . . ."

Kakashi sat down next to his student. "Tell me what happened."

"WE KISSED!" Naruto threw his hands up in aggravation. "And it was _his_ fault! But then he just pushed me away, like he changed his mind or something. I don't get how his mind works! He's so confusing!"

Kakashi sighed. "Alright, Naruto, here's what you need to do . . ."

xxx

Sasuke started. Someone was knocking on the door of his room. He got up from the floor hastily and went to open it, wiping his face with the back of his arm.

He raised his eyebrows. "Kakashi-sensei?"

The masked ninja came in and sat down, motioning for the Uchiha to do the same. "Sasuke, first of all, I want to know how you're feeling. Remember, it was only yesterday that Naruto and Tsunade healed you," he pointed out.

The dark-haired ninja scowled. "I know! I feel fine!" he got up from his chair angrily.

Kakashi shook his head. "No, you obviously _don't_ feel fine. You're flesh wounds have been healed . . ." - the masked ninja's visible eye softened - " . . . but another has opened in year heart."

The Uchiha turned away. This was definitely not the time for his sensei's bad analogies. But Kakashi went on.

"Do you realize that all of this pain is self-inflicted? Why do you hurt yourself, Sasuke?" The masked ninja's voice became quieter as he continued. "Do you know that Naruto admires you? Do you know it hurts him to see you in so much pain? You're torturing him by putting him through all of this."

Sasuke whirled around. "What? All of WHAT?! I HATE HIM! AND THAT'S THE END OF IT!" he shouted. "I don't care how he feels! I don't care about him AT ALL!"

"Then why did you kiss him?"

The Uchiha breathed in sharply and glared at his sensei. Kakashi stood up and put a hand on the Uchiha's shoulder. "He loves you and you're too stubborn to realize it, or too suspicious. If you don't get him fast, he'll move on to someone else! If I were you, I would find him as soon as I could and tell him how I felt." Kakashi laughed at the stunned expression on Sasuke's face. "I've known about your feelings for each other for a while now."

The Uchiha stared at his sensei and finally looked down. "He loves me . . ." Sasuke's whisper was barely audible. "But how . . . and WHY . . ." Sasuke held his head in his hands, but his heart was lifting.

Kakashi's visible eye became a smiling half-moon. "Yes, he does love you, though he only just realized it. If I were you, I'd get going immediately. You need to find him and talk to him. Your shirt was ruined but I went and got another for you—you don't want to run after Naruto half-naked!"

Sasuke blushed and pulled the shirt over his head. He walked to the door and paused, standing in front of it for a moment in silence.

"What is it, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha turned around to face the masked ninja. "Kakashi-sensei, I'm sorry about what I did . . . and I wanted to tell you how grateful I am to you." The dark-haired ninja closed his eyes. "You've been like a father—"

The Uchiha's sentence was cut off as his sensei hugged him.

"—to me," he gasped out with a smile.

xxx

Hinata panted, flopping back on her bed. She had gone through her entire closet, but nothing was good enough to wear to lunch . . . _nothing_ . . .

_This is bad . . . I want to look nice for Shikamaru-kun . . . _Hinata sighed, ignored the tears of frustration that clung to her cheeks.

"Hinata! Could you open the door?!"

The Hyuuga sat up and got off her bed, wiping her face on her sleeve. She sniffed. "N-neji-kun? Is that you?" She let her cousin in. The ninja practically fell over from the weight of the boxes he was carrying. He set them down in the middle of the room. "I heard Shikamaru asked you out." Neji smirked as his cousin blushed.

"Stop teasing, me, Neji-kun," she laughed softly, hands covering her mouth.

Neji smiled. "Well, I figured I'd bring up some of mother's old dresses. See if you want to wear something." He waved to the boxes. "Just be careful with them, will you?" The dark-haired ninja stopped for a second, and stood there, considering his cousin. Suddenly, he started jumping up and down with excitement. "I can't believe my little Hinata-chan is being asked out on a date! This is so exciting!"

Hinata glared but couldn't help but start laughing. "Thank you for the dresses, Neji-kun," the Hyuuga said dubiously.

Neji nodded and skipped away, shutting the door behind him and leaving Hinata to stare at the mountain of boxes in the middle of her room.

_I guess I have to start somewhere . . . _

The little Hyuuga opened box after box, but the dresses where too small or too big, too fancy or too plain . . .

Hinata sighed as she reached into the last box. She closed her eyes. _Please . . . please . . . this has to be the one . . . _

The dark-haired ninja opened her eyes slowly and gasped. The dress in her hands was the pale blue of a February sky. "It's beautiful . . ." she whispered in awe.

xxx

**A/N: **Aw, Hinata wants to look nice for a certain somebody! Btw, Neji is OOC for a reason that will be revealed eventually. And Kakashi gives such good advice because he's gay himself. You know he is. Because he has a boyfriend . . . coughIrukacough. Ahem.


	6. Panic

**A/N: **I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, the poem is Sappho's, and the fic is mine.

xxx

Without warning

as a whirlwind

swoops on an oak

Love shakes my heart.

- Sappho

Chapter 6 – Panic

Sasuke hurried out onto the streets of Konoha. He glanced around, but he could see no sign of Naruto anywhere. "Naruto!" he yelled impatiently. "Naruto! WHERE ARE YOU?!" He set off, looking into shops, pushing through crowds. Everything was decorated in pink and red. The air hummed loudly with the commotion of chattering couples. Sasuke growled in frustration. _I can't think with this much noise around me! _

He stopped and leaned against a building, trying to concentrate. _I have to focus. Alright. If I was a hyperactive, loud-mouth ninja, where would I go . . . where would I be right now . . ._

_Well, I may as well check all places that have to do with ramen . . . _The Uchiha decided that was a good start, since before then he had been wandering randomly through the village. "Naruto!" the dark-haired ninja called out again. He turned onto another street and stopped dead in his tracks.

_Run! Run for your life! _his instincts told him urgently, but he couldn't move.

The Uchiha stood there, paralyzed with fear, as the girls descended upon him.

xxx

Shikamaru smoothed the picnic blanket for the hundredth time. _She's not late, she's not late, she's not late . . ._ he reminded himself. He was so incredibly nervous . . . each second he waited stretched on like eternity. It seemed that he'd been sitting on the hill for hours.

Suddenly, the dark-haired ninja's head shot up. Hinata had appeared on the road leading out of Konoha. Shikamaru threw himself down on the grass out of her sight. His head felt light. He smoothed his shirt worriedly and fixed his pony-tail. He took a deep breath. _Must calm down, must calm down . . . _

Shikamaru checked one last time that everything was in its place—the basket he had brought had been unpacked and he had laid plates and bowls out for both of them. The soup was still warm and the roses he bought for her hadn't wilted. Everything was perfect. He'd even got Hinata her favorite kind of chocolate—he'd needed to ask around for hours to find out what she liked. Shikamaru went over all of it in his mind a final time.

"Sh-shika-m-maru-k-kun?"

The dark-haired ninja whirled around, getting clumsily to his feet. "Hey Hinata! You look . . . amazing . . ." The lovesick ninja stared at his date in awe. The Hyuuga's dress seemed to be a part of the sky—it was the delicate shade of blue he had gazed at so many times, watching the clouds float overhead. His eyes noticed her nervously clasped hands and drifted up to study her face. The female ninja stared back.

"Hinata, I—"

"Sh-shik-kamaru—"

The two ninja started at once, and then stopped abruptly. There was silence.

"Um! Sit down! I, uhhh, made soup?! Ummm . . ."

Hinata blushed and sat down next to Shikamaru. She took a deep breath, looking sideways at the other ninja. "It was really nice of you to ask me to have lunch with you out here—it's beautiful," she whispered, shifting her eyes to look down at her plate.

Shikamaru smiled. "Uh . . . thanks?" He looked away. Suddenly he turned back. "Hinata, these flowers are for you."

The Hyuuga looked up in awe. "Oh Shikamaru! Th-thank you . . ."

A self-conscious Shikamaru smiled as the other ninja took the roses from him timidly. "So. Ummm . . ."

Hinata blushed. "W-wait, Sh-shikamaru-kun . . . I have something for you too." She took a box out of her bag and handed it to the stunned ninja.

"Wh—"

"Open it."

Shikamaru lifted the lid of the box and smiled with delight. "Did you bake these yourself, Hinata? They smell amazzzing . . ." he sighed.

Hinata blushed, suddenly feeling very warm. "Th-thank you, Shikamaru-k-kun . . . I kn-new you liked clouds so I thought . . ."

"Cloud-shaped cookies! Brilliant!" Shikamaru sighed, lying back with his arms behind his head.

Hinata smiled. "S-so . . . Sh-shika-m-maru-kun . . . what do you want to talk about?"

xxx

Naruto tapped his foot in impatience. _Where the hell is Sasuke? Kakashi-sensei told me to wait here but nothing's happening! Ichiraku's is the first place he would check if he was looking for me, right? Then why isn't he here? Maybe something went wrong . . . _Naruto sighed and leaned against the wall of the restaurant. _Seriously, he would KNOW I'd be in a place like this—lots of ramen . . . _He licked his lips and smiled as the smell of noodles drifted around him.

While the blonde ninja was dreaming of ramen, Kakashi came in through the doors of the restaurant and walked up to him. "Naruto!" he whispered nervously. "Uhhh . . . well . . . the plan isn't really working."

Naruto snapped back from his dreams of ramen. "Wh-what do you mean?!"

Kakashi fidgeted. "It seems . . . that a certain . . .Uchiha . . ."

Naruto gulped.

". . . has been attacked by lovesick teenage ninja . . . and kidnapped."

Naruto's eyes widened. He put a hand to his forehead. "OH NO!" he wailed. "WHERE ARE THEY TAKING HIM?!"

"Well, they were headed in the direction of the dorms the last time I saw them . . ." the older ninja mused. "They were all squealing something about snuggling with him and playing with his hair . . ."

Naruto lowered his eyebrows ominously. _I'm the only one who's allowed to snuggle with Sasuke . . . or play with his silky, dark blue, gorgeous hair. . ._

"Bye, Kakashi-sensei!" the blonde yelled as he ran out the door.

Kakashi put a hand behind his head, breathing in a sigh of relief. _My plan didn't work so well after all . . . but maybe there's still a chance for them. _He smiled. _They're so cute together! _His visible eye closed in a gleeful half-moon. Who would've known the famous copy-nin's thoughts would sound like those of a fangirl?

Suddenly, Neji skipped up to the masked ninja and poked him with his Gentle Fist Technique.

"Ow! What was that for?" Kakashi mumbled dolefully, clutching his stomach in pain.

The Hyuuga cackled, taking another lick at his ice-cream cone. "Do you have any extra change? I need more money to buy ice-cream."

Kakashi looked sternly at the young ninja. "No more sugar for you, young man. You're waaay too hyper already."

"Nooo, I'm not hyper!" the Hyuuga pouted, bouncing up and down.

Kakashi shook his head. "You've been acting strangely all day. Even Lee mentioned it and he's normally not that perceptive. When was the last time you ate . . . something besides ice-cream?"

Neji had to think for a moment. "Hn, that would be the day before yesterday when I had some sorbet . . ."

The masked ninja folded his arms and glared down at Neji. "You've been living off sugar for way to long now. That's bad for you, you know."

The Hyuuga shrugged and jabbed the masked ninja in the shoulder. "I don't care." He licked his ice-cream again.

Kakashi grasped his shoulder, scowling at the dark-haired ninja before him. He took a deep breath and tried another technique. "Hn, you know, girls don't like hyperactive ninja. . . I mean, you won't get any attention from the ladies if you're this crazy all the time," he explained with a wink.

Neji sniffed haughtily, closing his eyes as he savored his ice-cream . "Girls don't like hyperactive ninja, but Sasukes do." His eyes shot open. "NOT THAT I WANT SASUKE'S ATTENTION!" He cleared his throat, the smug look returning to his face. "Actually, being hyperactive scares off all my fangirls. You saw what happened to Sasuke. See, that's what I'm avoiding. I don't fancy being kidnapped any time soon."

Understanding dawned in Kakashi's visible eye, but then he raised his eyebrow suspiciously. "But there's one girl's attention you don't want to avoid, isn't there?"

Neji raised his eyebrows. _How could the copy ninja know about THAT?_

"Tenten . . ."

The Hyuuga blushed, glaring at the older ninja. "FINE!" he growled. "But so what?!"

Kakashi smirked beneath his mask. "Wouldn't it be sad if another ninja asked her to have lunch with him . . . and then they started dating . . . and then they got married . . ." He widened his eyes to add effect.

A look of intense horror grew on the Hyuuga's face.

". . . and then you _never _got to tell her that you loved her?" Kakashi batted the eyelashes of his visible eye and clutched his hands to his chest in a silly imitation of a lovesick teenage girl.

Neji puffed himself up but then deflated before he even started to deny it. He thrust his ice-cream into Kakashi's hands and dashed out the door. "TENTEN! TENTEN! WE NEED TO TALK! WHERE ARE YOU?!" the distressed Hyuuga shrieked, his voice receding as he got farther and farther away.

Kakashi looked down at the ice-cream in his hands. _Not only am I the best match-maker in Konoha, I just got free ice-cream . . ._

His visible eye closed in a half moon._ I sure am good . . ._

xxx

Shikamaru put the last dish back in his basket. He looked up at Hinata. Now that they had finished eating he didn't know what to do . . . he almost wanted to get out of there as fast as he could. _Being around her for this long . . . _the dark-haired ninja sighed. It was putting a spell on him.

Shikamaru shook himself and stood up. "Well, I guess I'd better be going . . ."

The Hyuuga's eyes widened and she looked away. "Oh, I-I thought that maybe . . ." Her lips trembled slightly.

"Y-yes?" Shikamaru mentally slapped himself for being so awkward.

"There's this river not far from here . . . I thought that m-maybe we could . . . walk there?" Hinata whispered. Shikamaru blinked. "It's beautiful . . . and I wanted to show it to you!" she said suddenly. Without any kind of warning, the Hyuuga took his hand and led him down the hill, a faint smile on her lips.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and leaned against Hinata, not realizing what he was doing until she squeezed his hand tentatively. He started and she laughed, a blush appearing on her cheeks. "Shikamaru-kun, come on!"

The dark-haired ninja flushed red and ran after the Hyuuga as she disappeared into the shade of the trees ahead.

xxx

**A/N: **Awww! Shika and Hinata are so cute together! Oh, and in case you're confuzzled, Kakashi's plan was just to wait in a ramen shop. Some plan . . . seriously Kakashi-sensei. Not creative at all, even though it should have worked.

haha, Neji is sugar-high! I actually didn't intend to put him in this fic at all, but then he kind of inserted himself in that scene with Hinata and I had to explain his strange behavior (i.e. skipping around and being altogether hyper)

**Next time: **Enter . . . Evil Fangirl Number One and her Minions of Doom. Lee and Sakura talk about Naruto and Sasuke. Tenten bakes a cake.

Please review! Because every time you don't review, a little innocent bunny DIES.

lol.


	7. Gossip

**A/N: **Naruto isn't mine, blah blah blah.

Sorry, short chapter.

xxx

Although they are only breath,

words which I command

are immortal.

- Sappho

Chapter 7 – Gossip

Sasuke struggled as the girls dragged him up a flight of stairs, chattering and giggling maniacally. He tried to shake off their grasps on his arms and shoulders, but failed. The Uchiha gulped as they pushed him into a room and closed the door.

"What are you going to do to me?" His eyes darted suspiciously from face to face.

"Find out who you like, of course!" Ino grinned.

Sasuke cursed, closing his eyes in horror. He hadn't realized the blonde ninja was in the room as well.

"Look. I don't like anyone," the Uchiha snarled, flinching as the girls closed in around him. _Except Naruto . . . _his thoughts whispered. He shook his head to clear it.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. Everyone likes someone. I mean, even Naruto has a crush!"

Sasuke's eyes shot open. The conversation had suddenly become interesting. "What? Who is it?! TELL ME!" The Uchiha shook the blonde ninja by her shoulders, baring his teeth. "Spit it out, you idiot!" he growled.

Ino giggled, pulling herself closer to Sasuke. She batted her eyelashes. "He likes _me_. I have to admit, he has better taste than he used to, when he liked Sakura." She raised her eyebrows disdainfully and stuck out her tongue in disgust. "But none of that matters. Who do _you _like, Sasuke-kun, my darling?" Ino crooned, running a finger along the Uchiha's jaw.

Sasuke fell back against the wall, half-heartedly swatting her hand away. _I knew he was only messing with me . . . damn it. Even Kakashi-sensei was wrong about Naruto. _The Uchiha clenched and unclenched his fists, finally letting himself slip down to sit on the floor. _I never should have kissed him! I never should have let my feelings get the better of me! _ Sasuke shut his eyes and groaned. The girls around him glanced at each other in confusion. The Uchiha's lids flickered open. He stared at the floor beneath him, discolored with the dark stain of tears.

He felt his heart grow colder. _This is the last time I cry for that idiot . . . because he never cared . . . and I'll never care again._

Sasuke flinched as he felt handcuffs close around his wrists and ropes tightening around his ankles. "You can't escape now, my precious Sasuke-kun . . ." Ino whispered ominously. The Uchiha hung his head in despair.

xxx

"It's amazing how fast things spread in Konoha," Sakura mused, taking Lee's hand as they walked down one of the roads of the village. "Naruto just told me he likes Ino and suddenly there isn't one ninja who doesn't know about it!"

Lee nodded. "Of course, we both know he's lying about Ino, don't we, Sakura-chan?" He held a finger to his lips in thought. "Who do you think it really is?"

"Huh?"

"Who does he really likes? I think it might be Uchiha Sasuke . . ."

Sakura raised an eyebrow incredulously. "You have to be kidding me."

Lee shrugged. "I don't know."

xxx

_Tenten was putting the finishing touches on a chocolate cake. She stood back and smiled. _I hope Neji and Lee like this! _She licked icing off her fingers. _Well, it looks done to me.

"_Gai-sensei! Gai-sensei! Come and see the cake! I'm done!" she called over her shoulder._

_Gai stuck his head around the corner of the kitchen. "Tenten! My youthful student! This cake looks magnificent! Perfect for celebrating Valentine's Day with our team!"_

_Tenten swelled with pride. "Thanks, Gai-sensei! Where are Neji and Lee?"_

_The older ninja thought for a moment. "I just saw Lee outside so I'll go get him. As for Neji—"_

"_TENTEN! TENTEN!" Neji burst into the kitchen, panting. His hair had fallen out of his pony-tail and lay across his shoulders. Tenten stared at it. _I never knew his hair could look so good . . ._ she sighed to herself._

_Suddenly, Tenten realized that her teammate had been silent since he ran into the kitchen. Neji was standing quietly, watching her with intense eyes. "Uhhh . . . Neji, what is it?" she asked uncertainly. _

"_I LOVE YOU!" The Hyuuga scooped the startled ninja up in his arms and kissed her passionately on the lips._

Tenten sighed, smiling into the kiss . . . she opened her eyes suddenly. But she wasn't looking into Neji's beautiful grey eyes . . . she was staring at the kitchen counter.

Tenten removed her lips from the counter and picked herself up with a sigh. _I fell asleep? With my head on the counter?_ She shook her head, blushing furiously.

"Tenten? How's that cake coming?" Gai's voice came from the other room.

The female ninja jumped and whirled around, breathing out a sigh of relief as she caught sight of the cake. She had, in fact, finished decorating it before falling asleep. "It's done, Gai-sensei!" she called back.

Her sensei poked his head around the corner. "Tenten! My youthful student! This cake looks magnificent! Perfect for celebrating Valentine's Day with our team!" He gave a thumbs up and grinned.

_That's exactly what he said in my dream! _Tenten raised an eyebrow, laughing silently. "Wow, Gai-sensei! Thanks so much! By the way, do you know where Neji and Lee are?"

"I just saw Lee and Sakura walk by. I'll go get them—Sakura will be our guest—that's alright, I assume? As for Neji—he'd probably be . . . actually I'm not sure where he'd be. Haven't seen him in a while . . ."

Tenten frowned as her sensei disappeared around the corner. _I haven't seen Neji in a while either . . . where has he gotten too? I have to find Neji . . . after all, this cake is a present for the whole team . . . _She shook her head and took off her apron, hanging it up on a peg. As she was about to walk out the door, she paused at a sound from outside.

_Did I just hear—_

"TENTEN! TENTEN!" Neji burst into the kitchen, panting. His hair had fallen out of his pony-tail and lay across his shoulders. Tenten stared at it. _I never knew his hair could look so good . . ._ she sighed to herself.

Suddenly, she brought a hand to her forehead in dismay. _Am I dreaming? This is all just like . . ._

Tenten realized Neji had been completely silent since he ran into the kitchen. "Uhhh . . . Neji, what is it?" she asked uncertainly, not realizing the line was the same in her dream . . . that this _all _was unnervingly similar to her dream, in fact.

"I . . ." the Hyuuga faltered.

Tenten's mouth fell open. "Wh—"

"GAAAAAAAH!" Neji screamed, running out of the kitchen. The stunned ninja watched him disappear. _He's acting so weird today . . ._

Gai stepped through the door, followed by Sakura and Lee. "Kakashi told me that Neji's been eating nothing but ice-cream for the last couple of days. I guess that would explain why he's so hyper."

Tenten's mouth fell open again. "This is all so weird . . ." The female ninja shook herself. "Well, it doesn't matter. Hey, Sakura! Hey, Lee!"

The two ninja hugged Tenten and sat down. "Gai-sensei told us that you baked a cake in celebration of Valentine's Day!" Sakura said with excitement.

Gai nodded at Sakura. "Our Tenten is one of the best cooks in all of Konoha!"

Tenten rolled her eyes, beaming. "Well, who wants a piece?"

Lee's eyes watered. "MEEE!" His hand shot up into the air.

"ME!" Sakura squealed.

Gai gave a blinding grin and a thumbs up. "AND ME TOO!"

Tenten chuckled as she cut pieces for her sensei and her friends. She only wished Neji hadn't run off so suddenly . . .

_I'll have to find him later and give him his piece of cake and maybe something else too . . . _She smiled, remembering her dream. _I wish that kiss had bee real . . . _

_I guess I'll have to make it real . . ._

xxx

**A/N: **lol, Tenten was visited by Neji in real life _and _her dream. I really enjoyed writing that scene – dreams are fun to write. I think I might have been hungry at the time too . . . mmmm, chocolate cake . . .

Oh, and sorry that there was even more Sasuke angst in this chapter. Don't worry though, Naruto will rescue him soon enough! And if you're offended that I made Ino the bad guy (or should I say bad girl?) then . . . uh, I can't really do anything about that, but you know, I have to make _someone _evil, don't I? XD

Oh yeah, and reviewing wouldn't hurt. In fact, it would make me verrrryyyyyy happy indeed! :D


	8. Kisses

**A/N: **Where are we again? Oh yes, Sasuke is tied up and handcuffed in a room full of rabid teenage girls. This can't be good! But don't worry. Nothing too bad will happen to him. I'm not that mean, really.

Mark Overby is some host on some show or something. I just thought this poem of his (quote? poem? whatever it is) aptly described Naruto's fierce protection of Sasuke, as you'll see in this chapter. And you better enjoy this, because this is 'The' scene. As in THE Naruto and Sasuke scene. The chapter isn't named 'Kisses' for nothing! XD

xxx

Love is much like a wild rose,

beautiful and calm,

but willing to draw blood

in its defense.

- Mark Overby

Chapter 8 – Kisses

"Leave us," Ino commanded the other girls. They sighed, looking back longingly at the Uchiha. The door finally closed, the quiet click strangely loud in the silence that had descended on the room. "I want to question you in private," Ino explained. "Well? Aren't you going to tell me who you like?"

The Uchiha didn't answer. Ino scowled. "Stop being so stubborn," she spat out bitterly. Sasuke struggled as the blonde bent down in front of him. The girl smirked, her tone instantly becoming sweeter. "What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?" she crooned.

The dark-haired ninja spat in her face. "Get away from me!" He clenched his fists, biting back a cry of pain as the metal cut into his skin.

Ino grabbed the Uchiha's shirt front and yanked him closer. "Don't be so impolite, my dear little Sasuke-kun . . ." she gritted out between her teeth.

"I thought Naruto had better taste than this . . ." Sasuke whispered.

Ino looked genuinely confused. "Wh-what?"

The Uchiha growled, turning his head away from her. Ino's mouth twitched into a frown, her eyes lighting with a strange fire. She reached out and grasped Sasuke's hair, pulling his head back to look up at her. She bent down and pressed her lips against his.

The Uchiha gasped for air as the girl's tongue slid into his mouth. Her nails felt like needles on his back. She tightened her grip, pulling his head even further back and making him flinch in pain.

The door flew open and in an instant Ino was lying on the floor with her arms twisted behind her. Sasuke stared in shock at the foot that was pressing down on her back.

Orange.

What kind of ninja wears orange?

Well, Sasuke knew . . . but he didn't want to accept what he knew. And even though that entrance had been timely and Ino wasn't in his personal space anymore, the boy before him was the last person he wanted to see.

His eyes travelled up the ninja's body to rest on a head of yellow hair.

"Naruto," Sasuke whispered, disliking the way his heart leapt like a dying fish in his chest.

The blonde ninja grabbed Ino and dragged her to her feet, eyes glinting red. "Never . . . touch . . . Sasuke . . . again." His voice was a growl, low and threatening.

Ino winced as Naruto's eyes bored into her. A bruise was forming on her jaw where he had punched her. She reached a hand up to feel the swelling.

Naruto shook her, hand fisted in her collar. "Are you listening to me?! Never touch him again! Now GET OUT!"

He threw her to the ground. Ino picked herself up and glared at him before disappearing through the door. Naruto's head immediately whipped around to look at Sasuke. The red faded from his eyes and his expression softened. "Sasuke—"

The Uchiha scowled. "What are you looking at, idiot?"

Naruto ignored the other boy's question and rushed over to him, bending down to examine the ropes that bound him.

Sasuke sighed impatiently. "Just untie me already. Does this have to take all day?"

Naruto glared at the dark-haired ninja in annoyance. "I have some questions for you to answer first, you bastard."

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Yes you do."

"You can't tell me what I want!"

"You're hardly in a position to have anything to say about it, you know."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Why did you kiss me?" Naruto said in a low voice.

Sasuke glared even harder at Naruto, but a slight blush crept onto his cheeks. "Don't change the subject!"

Naruto grinned. "I can if I want to, you bastard. Why did you kiss me?"

Sasuke scowled. "I didn't."

"Yes, you did!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing up his arms.

"No, I didn't!"

"Don't try to deny it, liar!"

"I'm not a liar! I never kissed you. You kissed _me._"

"That's not true! It was_ your_ fault! Why would I want to kiss _you_, anyway?" Naruto tried to look disgusted, but only remembered the pleasant feeling of Sasuke's lips against his.

Sasuke flinched and didn't reply. Naruto growled in anger. "Say something! Come on, I won't let you go until you talk!"

"I hate you!" the Uchiha snarled with conviction.

"I hate you too, bastard!" Naruto yelled back, baring his teeth.

Sasuke looked away. "Why?" he whispered bitterly.

The blonde ninja fumed. "Because . . . because . . . you're a self-centered, arrogant bastard! That's why!"

"No, idiot."

"What?"

The Uchiha's eyes flashed. "Why . . . why Ino, Naruto?"

"What about Ino?"

"What do you mean?! You—you like her, don't you?"

"I couldn't care less about her!"

"You like her!"

"No, I don't!"

"But she said—"

Naruto laughed and clamped a hand over the Uchiha's mouth. "In case you noticed, I just beat Ino up. Alright, look, I told Sakura that I liked Ino so she'd leave me alone because she was bothering me about who I liked! I'm _angry_ at Ino—I don't_ like_ her, stupid." Naruto brought his face inches away from Sasuke's. "I like _you_ . . ." The blonde ninja's voice cracked, but a smile crept onto his face as he pressed his lips against the dark-haired ninja's cheek.

"What?" Sasuke gasped out.

Naruto took out a kunai knife. He cut the ropes around Sasuke's legs and took the handcuffs of the Uchiha's wrists.

"May as well let you go—I have no secrets to keep from you anymore . . ." the blonde ninja said ruefully.

Sasuke massaged his stiff arms and then looked up at Naruto. Suddenly, he grabbed the other boy's hands and pushed him against the wall. Naruto growled but couldn't move, wrists in the Uchiha's tight grip.

Naruto opened his mouth but the Uchiha cut him off by kissing him suddenly. When Sasuke pulled away, he was smirking. "I guess I have no secrets to keep from you either."

Naruto smiled. "Bastard."

"Idiot."

The blonde ninja blushed as Sasuke leaned in to kiss him again. "W-wait, I need to know why you pushed me away before . . . you know, when you kissed me that other time . . ."

The Uchiha scowled at the interruption. "Fine."

"Well?"

"I was afraid you were just messing with me . . ."

"But that's ridiculous! Why would I do that?"

Sasuke glared at Naruto. "I don't know!"

Naruto smirked. "Well, at least you admit it—I didn't kiss _you_, you kissed _me_."

The corners of the Uchiha's mouth curved into a small smile. "Whatever, idiot. Now where were we?"

The blonde ninja moved closer to Sasuke. Their lips were almost touching. "Right about here, I think . . ."

"Hn." Sasuke kissed Naruto again, and let the boy's wrists go, moving his arms around the blonde ninja's body and pulling him closer. Naruto sighed, and the Uchiha could feel him smiling into the kiss.

"What is it?" the dark-haired ninja asked when they pulled apart.

"Nothing really . . ." Naruto said with a silly grin on his face. "I'm just happy that I finally have you, you bastard."

Sasuke blushed slightly. "Why do you always call me that?"

"Well, you _are _a bastard."

"Then why do you like me?" the Uchiha narrowed his eyes.

Naruto smirked. "Because you're a lovable bastard, that's why."

"Idiot," the Uchiha said with a smile, burying his face in Naruto's hair.

The blonde ninja bristled. "Why do you always call me _that_?"

"Well, you _are _an idiot."

Naruto pulled away form Sasuke and jabbed a finger at the air in front of his face. "Hey! You're just repeating everything I said!"

Unruffled, the Uchiha folded his arms over his chest. "Well, if we're following this pattern, aren't you going to ask me why I like you, then?"

"Fine. Why do you like me if I'm such an idiot?"

Sasuke closed the distance between himself and Naruto, sliding an arm around the blonde ninja's waist. He leaned closer so that his lips were next to the other boy's ear. "Because you're _my _idiot," he whispered.

Naruto's face turned red. "Sasu—" He stopped suddenly as the Uchiha's hand slid under his shirt, running over the skin of his stomach. He felt a hand tip his chin upward and then he was kissing Sasuke again, except this time the kiss was deeper, and he was being pulled to the floor. He felt the Uchiha push him back on the stone and lean over him, their lips still locked in the kiss.

The Uchiha finally pulled away. He opened his eyes and looked down at Naruto. "My very own idiot . . ." he murmured. He reached out and took the hem of Naruto's shirt, pulling it over the blonde's head. He tossed the shirt away.

Naruto blushed, shivering as Sasuke's hands ran over his shoulders. "Sasuke, I'm cold! Why did you have to go and do that?" The Uchiha merely laughed smugly in response. He lifted the blonde's head with his hands and planted a kiss on the boy's nose. "Damn it, Sasuke, I'm COLD," Naruto repeated.

The Uchiha could feel Naruto's uneven breathing on his neck. "No, idiot, you're burning up." The Uchiha ran a hand over the skin of Naruto's chest. The blonde ninja practically radiated heat.

Naruto closed his eyes as the Uchiha's fingers traced the seal on his stomach. Sasuke smirked. "Hn. You know, you're cute when you close your eyes like that."

Naruto grinned and sat up, wrapping his arms around Sasuke. "I love you, you insufferable bastard . . ."

"I love you too, idiot."

Naruto grinned widely. "So, Sasuke, how long have you had a crush on me?"

The Uchiha put a hand to his lips in thought. "I'm not sure, but I have to say, I really enjoyed it when we kissed that one time back at the Academy . . ." The dark-haired ninja turned away so Naruto couldn't see his smile or the blush on his cheeks.

Naruto's eyes widened comically. "You've liked me . . . for that long?"

Sasuke turned back after he had fought down his smile. "Yes . . ." The corner of his eye twitched. "Is everything alright?"

Naruto put his hands behind his head and grinned nervously. "Oh, uh, yeah . . . hehe . . . it's just that I only realized I liked you last night . . ."

"WHAT?"

"I said, I only realized—"

"I KNOW! I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"

"Well, uh . . . believe it!" Naruto said weakly, giving a half-hearted thumbs up. "I mean, I actually liked you for a long time before that, but I just didn't realize it because . . ." - he smiled ruefully - "I _am_ an idiot."

The Uchiha's eyes softened. "I'm sorry, Naruto." He smirked back at the blonde ninja. "I probably should have expected that from you since you're so thick."

Naruto pretended to look hurt. Sasuke shielded his eyes with his hand. "Don't give me that look!"

The blonde ninja laughed, grinning evilly. "You can't hate me for long, can you, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha glared, unnerved by Naruto's smile. "I can do what I want, idiot!" His breathing quickened as the blonde ninja pushed him back against the floor.

"Hn." Naruto smirked. He took the dark-haired ninja's shoulders and pressed his lips against the other boy's.

Naruto broke the kiss and smirked down at the dark-haired ninja. He pulled Sasuke's shirt over his head and tossed it out of the Uchiha's reach. Sasuke breathed in sharply. "Damn it, Naruto, now _I'm _the one who's cold!"

The blonde ninja leaned down and brushed his lips against the Uchiha's neck. "Too bad, bastard . . ." he murmured with a smile.

Shivers ran up Sasuke's back as Naruto kissed him again. The other boy's body was so warm, so deliciously warm . . . so Sasuke pulled him closer.

Naruto moved his hands around the Uchiha's shoulders and kissed the Cursed Seal at the base of his neck. The dark-haired ninja shuddered, his head falling back on the stone floor. When the blonde ninja pulled away again, Sasuke's chest was heaving.

Naruto sat up, bright yellow locks in a tangled mess. He looked hesitant. "Maybe we . . . shouldn't do this . . . I mean, you only just got healed . . ."

The Uchiha still hadn't caught his breath. His dark eyes gazed up at Naruto.

"Wait a sec." Naruto reached out and unwound the bandages that Tsunade had wrapped around Sasuke's arms and waist. He discarded the white fabric, revealing the Uchiha's pale, new skin.

"See . . . I'm fine, idiot . . ." Sasuke panted, chest rising and falling.

Naruto grinned. "Hn. Never mind then."

The blonde ninja leaned over the Uchiha slowly, running his fingers through Sasuke's dark hair. "You know, I've already lost track of how many times we've kissed," he murmured, smiling.

The Uchiha gulped. His brain had finally processed the fact that he was pinned under Naruto, and that neither of them was wearing a shirt.

". . . Really?" he asked, staring, hypnotized, into the other ninja's blue eyes. He never knew eyes could be that blue . . . that beautiful and blue . . .

Naruto raised an eyebrow, moving even closer. "Yes, really. What's up with you anyway? You're acting funny all of a sudden."

Sasuke turned his head to the side, shivering as the other boy's lips touched his jaw. "H-hey, idiot, do you know if we're supposed to be . . . somewhere . . . doing . . . something?" he asked weakly, completely ignoring Naruto's question. He tried to sit up.

Naruto grabbed his wrists and pinned him to the floor. "No, it's Valentine's Day, stupid!" the blond ninja growled. "We're supposed to be doing exactly what we already _are_ doing—and that's being in _love_ . . ." He raised his eyebrows and grinned, teeth glinting in the dim light.

Sasuke struggled half-heartedly as Naruto leaned down again and kissed him. The Uchiha eventually went limp, relaxing and letting himself be lost in the warmth of the other boy's body. His eyelids fell shut.

Sasuke analyzed the situation.

He was lying . . .

On the floor.

He was lying on the _floor._

He was lying on the floor . . .

With Naruto.

_He was lying on the floor with Naruto. _

He was lying on the _floor_ with Naruto.

He was lying on the floor with _Naruto._

He was lying on the floor with Naruto, and he was _kissing _Naruto.

Sasuke let the smallest of smirks lift the corners of his mouth. He would remember this _forever._

But then again, there would be other times to remember as well . . .

The Uchiha smiled brilliantly. _Who would have guessed, oh, who would have guessed!_

xxx

**A/N: **The last part, starting as Sasuke analyzes everything—it was inspired by "It's Tradition" by Justice-hime. If you haven't read it, YOU SHOULD! It's in my favorites, so go and check it out!

**Next time: **(don't worry, the fic still isn't over!) Lee and Sakura eat chocolate cake. Shikamaru and Hinata have a very cute moment. Neji and Tenten have a scene and Naruto and Sasuke have a really really really short scene.


	9. Worth Something

xxx

Even if I

repeated love's name

forever,

could outward life match

the intensity of our hearts?

- Izumi Shikibu

Chapter 9 – Worth Something

Gai, Lee, Sakura and Tenten had finished eating their pieces of chocolate cake. Well, all of them except Lee. He was taking an unbelievably long time to eat his piece.

Tenten clasped and unclasped her hands nervously. "Well, I, uh, have to be somewhere now—Gai-sensei, I'm going to go find Neji and give him his cake . . . so I guess I'll see you guys later?"

All of them waved as she disappeared out the door with a plate. Gai was the first to break the silence. "Ah, the spring of youth . . . how long do you guys think it will take for the two of them to confess their love to each other?"

Lee choked. "Wh-what? You mean—"

Gai rolled his eyes. "Yes, I mean Neji and Tenten. Don't give me that look—I've known about their mutual crushes on each other for time beyond measure!"

Sakura's mouth fell open. "How on earth . . ."

Gai got up and walked to the door. "Well, I'll leave you two lovebirds to yourselves now! See you later!" He gave them a grin and a thumbs-up before walking away.

Lee turned to Sakura after shaking himself thoroughly. "How the hell does he know about that?"

The female ninja shrugged, shaking her head. "I honestly don't know. Teachers scare me sometimes!"

Lee nodded and took a bite of his cake. "Oh, that's too bad . . ." he muttered, looking down at his now empty plate. "I finished my chocolate cake already!"

Sakura turned to him. Her eyebrow twitched. "Wait—you've got a smudge of chocolate on your chin."

She leaned over and licked it off him. He blinked in shock. "S-sakura-chan?"

"What?"

Lee looked down at his plate and then back at his girlfriend. "Uh . . . so do I have any more chocolate on my face?" He sounded almost hopeful.

Sakura considered him for a minute. "Hn, I think I see some next to your mouth . . ." she murmured, leaning in and reaching out her tongue. Lee blushed furiously as he felt her warm breath on his skin.

"Sakura-ch-chan, you . . . uh . . ."

"Yes?"

"I think you mighthave some chocolate at the corner of _your_ mouth." Lee winked.

"Oh, thank you for pointing that out, Lee," the pink-haired ninja said brightly. "Would you be so kind as to lick it off for me?"

Lee was only too happy to oblige.

xxx

Shikamaru followed Hinata out onto the banks of the small river. "See, Shikamaru-k-kun? Isn't it beautiful?"

The dark-haired ninja nodded in appreciation, closing his eyes as he breathed in the cool, clear air. He sighed. "You couldn't have picked a better spot! Do you come here often?"

The Hyuuga nodded, looking down at her feet. "Y-yes . . . it's especially pretty at night when moonlight shines on the water, and the fireflies come out . . . but of course that's only in the summer-time . . ."

Shikamaru smiled. He felt at peace in the middle of the woods, with the tall, strong trunks of the trees receding into the blue air overhead.

The dark-haired ninja hopped onto a rock that stood above the rushing water of the stream and sat down cross-legged, a contented smile on his face. "This is nice . . ." he sighed to himself, closing his eyes again and letting the sounds of the water fill his ears. Hinata smiled at him from the bank of the river and sat down on a rock herself, relaxing, letting the sunlight fall over her and warm her skin.

Suddenly she looked up, her gaze unfaltering and resolute. "Sh-shikamaru-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Do you promise that we'll be friends?"

Shikamaru grinned and reached out across the narrow band of water between them. Hinata clasped hands with him. The two ninja smiled. "Friends," they whispered to each other. It was a promise.

xxx

Neji slumped down under a tree outside the village of Konoha. He leaned back and sighed. He just couldn't face Tenten, no matter what he did, no matter how he much courage he summed up. It was too scary to think about—the idea of telling her how he felt.

The Hyuuga looked up at the sky, blue and filled with white fluffy clouds. It was unfair that everything looked so beautiful when he felt so _down_! It wasn't a feeling of sorrow or grief or despair—it wasn't like he was depressed—not at all. It was merely a feeling that he couldn't do anything and just wasn't worth anyone's time.

_She's so friendly and fun to be around . . . and I must seem so dark and so serious, just some destiny-obsessed show-off. The only thing she could admire about me is my skill as a ninja, but when it comes down to it, that won't even really matter to her! What matters is if I can make her laugh, make her feel happy, be friendly and just be plain normal around her . . . instead of freezing up every time I see her face._

Neji closed his eyes, sighing for a second time. _Valentine's Day of all days to feel this-_

"Hn?" The Hyuuga had opened his eyes as he felt a shadow fall across him. He looked up at the ninja who stood in front of him.

The ninja offered a plate. "I baked this cake for our team but I didn't get to give it to you earlier. I hope you like it!"

Neji's eyes widened. She had come all the way out here . . . for him? That small detail, insignificant as it seemed, warmed the Hyuuga's heart.

"Thank you, Tenten." He took the plate from her hands and attempted a polite smile.

"Is there anything wrong, Neji?"

The Hyuuga started. "What? N-no!" He looked down at his hands and then back up at Tenten. "I guess I just need to ask you something."

_What has gotten into me . . . _Neji thought to himself. _I really shouldn't do this, I really shouldn't . . ._

He looked up at Tenten, who looked slightly confused and very curious. "What is it?" she prompted.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" the Hyuuga gritted out between his teeth. He watched as an enormous blush grew on Tenten's cheeks. She nodded wordlessly.

The silence was killing both of them. Tenten was the one to finally break it. "S-so, are you going to eat your cake or do I have to help you?" The female ninja flopped down on her stomach next to him, resting her chin in her hands. She smiled and Neji's stomach flipped. _She's so beautiful when she smiles . . ._

The Hyuuga shook him self. "Here." He held out the fork. But Tenten merely opened her mouth. "What? Do you want me to feed you?" Neji laughed.

She nodded and tapped her foot impatiently. Neji gave her the first bite, and then took one himself. Tenten raised an eyebrow. "So, you don't mind using the same fork as me?"

The Hyuuga paused with the fork half-way to his mouth. "Erm, no?"

Tenten blushed. "Never mind. I guess it would be weird if it mattered . . . because, well, we _are _. . ." – she cursed herself for saying anything. This would make it even more awkward – ". . . boyfriend and girlfriend . . ."

Neji turned red and swallowed. "Yeah, uh, because, I mean, we're going to kiss eventually . . ." – his mind screamed at him to stop, but he kept on going – "so it doesn't matter, does it?"

Tenten blushed even harder and shook her head quickly, looking everywhere but at the Hyuuga in front of her.

This time it was Neji who broke the silence. "Would you let me . . . um . . ."

Tenten looked back up at him as she felt his hands move out to unfasten her hair. It fell out of its tight buns and uncoiled over her shoulders in dark brown waves. Neji ran his fingers threw it slowly, face unreadable, grey eyes avoiding her gaze. His hands finally dropped to her shoulders and he looked at her.

Tenten stared into his eyes. "Yes?" she answered, partly to his unfinished question, and partly to the expectant silence.

_We're going to kiss eventually . . . so it doesn't matter, does it?_

_Because, well, we are boyfriend and girlfriend . . ._

His face was so close she could feel his breath, and hear his chest rising and falling rapidly. He was kneeling in front of her, dark hair falling forwards into his face. She slowly got up off her stomach and crouched in front of him, moving a bit closer and placing her hands around his neck.

Tenten brought her lips nearer to his and paused, waiting to see what he would do. The Hyuuga's eyes were still unreadable and his face was composed, but his hands trembled ever so slightly. Suddenly, Tenten kissed him, wrapping her arms farther around him and letting all the tension in her body go. Neji seemed to melt in her arms.

The kiss was gentle and soft, but it held all the things they'd wished they could say, all the things that it was impossible to say. When they pulled apart, the awkwardness of the past silence was forgotten.

"I love you."

"I love _you_."

Neji pulled Tenten closer and ran his fingers threw her hair, smiling slightly. "So will you help me finish my cake?"

"Sure . . ." she murmured, grinning.

This was the beginning of everything she'd dreamed about.

xxx

Naruto and Sasuke walked down the street, holding hands, leaning against each other. By this time they were fully clothed, of course. They had decided that it was about time to go and eat something.

"Ramen?"

"Of course," Sasuke smirked, moving closer to Naruto and tousling his yellow hair. "My little idiot."

Naruto grinned, his heart warming. They continued walking down the street. Both boys' minds were focused on the same thought, one that filled them both with immense happiness.

_I'm worth something . . . because he loves me._

xxx


	10. Blame Aphrodite

**A/N: **Warning: Yuri ahead! Just a bit. And I really like the pairing, but if you'd rather think of it as a crack pairing, go ahead.

Just read it. You'll see.

xxx

It's no use, mother dear,

I can't finish my weaving.

You may blame Aphrodite—

soft as she is, she has almost

killed me with love

for that boy.

- Sappho

Chapter 10 – Blame Aphrodite

Naruto clutched Sasuke's hand in excitement, making the Uchiha wince. "Rrraaammmeeennn . . ." he crowed, eyes lighting with a fanatical glow. The two had arrived in front of Ichiraku's Ramen Bar.

"Naruto. Let go of my hand. That hurts!" Sasuke growled. "Idiot."

"Sorry, bastard," the blonde ninja said with a pout, removing his hand and hugging his boyfriend consolingly.

"Hn. You don't need to apologize." The Uchiha smiled. No one could be angry with Naruto for long, and he was no exception.

The two ninja walked into Ichiraku's and ordered ramen. Just as they disappeared, Sakura and Lee came around the corner. They barely caught a glimpse of the two as they vanished.

Sakura did a double take. "Wait a minute. Was that Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun?" she asked incredulously, rubbing her eyes. "It couldn't have been. It looked like they . . . like they were _hugging_."

Lee squinted. "But I think it really was them . . . let's go see." He shared a puzzled glance with his girlfriend. _Naruto and Sasuke . . . hugging? Those two are more likely to rip each other apart limb from limb . . ._

They walked into Ichiraku's and glanced around, eyes finally finding the forms of two ninja. Naruto still had his arm around the Uchiha's shoulders. Sakura's mouth fell open as Sasuke turned and placed a gentle kiss on the blonde ninja's cheek.

"WHAT?"

Both boys spun around and glared at the interruption. "Sakura-chan? Bushy-brow? What are you doing here?" Naruto jabbed a finger at the pair.

"We were just following you because . . . we saw you hugging and . . . um . . ."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, holding up a hand for Sakura to stop. "Naruto is my boyfriend." He pulled the blonde ninja closer to him possessively. "That is all. You can stop staring now."

Lee elbowed Sakura. "You're not jealous, are you?" he muttered.

The female ninja looked affronted. "No, silly! Why do you keep thinking that? It's just a surprise that their . . . together. A really big surprise . . ."

Lee nodded. "It _is_ a bit of a surprise, but if you think about it, it makes sense. I mean, what kind of ninja kisses his team-mate _accidentally? _Come on!"

Sakura smirked. "Yeah, that's true. And they were always worried about each other on missions, looking out for each other when they didn't even realize it. It really is very cute!" she squealed.

Naruto tipped his head to the side. "What are you two whispering about?"

Wide grins spread across the two ninja's faces. "Nothing . . . nothing at all . . ."

"Riiiiiiight." Naruto didn't believe it for a second.

"Well, do you mind if we eat with you?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "Go ahead. Maybe having more intelligent people around will make their intelligence rub off on Naruto." He smirked. "And you need it badly, my little idiot."

"If I'm so stupid then why do you like me, huh?" Naruto asked teasingly.

Sakura and Lee pulled up chairs as the two ninja continued to taunt each other. "Lee, do you think they're flirting or arguing? It seems like it's a bit of both."

Lee nodded. "They're a strange pair alright."

"Bastard!"

"Idiot!"

"I'm not an idiot, you bastard!"

"I'm not a bastard, but you _are_ an—mmph!" The Uchiha was cut off with a kiss. Naruto smirked as the dark-haired ninja let out a sigh and moved closer, wrapping his arms around the blonde ninja's waist.

Sakura coughed loudly to get their attention. "Neji and Tenten are here, you know."

Sure enough, the two ninja had just entered Ichiraku's. They were holding hands and leaning against each other with contented smiles on their faces. Sakura clasped her hands. "Oh! Are they finally together?" She rushed over to Tenten. The two started whispering excitedly.

Neji sat down next to Lee and smirked. "I told you Tenten would be mine eventually."

The other ninja rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I was only saying it might be hard for you to get a girlfriend since you have long hair like that. It looks so girly! Whereas my haircut just emanates manliness and youth!"

Sakura, hearing this, looked over from where she was sitting with Tenten and coughed loudly. "Lee's haircut? Manly? If Lee's haircut is manly then I'm the Hokage!"

Lee ignored her, sticking his nose in the air. Sasuke and Naruto laughed at the expression on his face.

"Well, as I said, you're haircut is girly."

The Hyuuga lowered his eyebrows threateningly. "Don't you ever say that again. I DO NOT LOOK LIKE A GIRL! Ask Tenten, she thinks I'm really good-looking." Neji stuck his nose in the air and turned away, trying to ignore his team-mate.

Lee smiled. "Why would I trust _her_ opinion? Since she likes you, she's obviously crazy and has no sense of taste."

Neji tapped Lee on the nose. "Enough."

Suddenly, Tenten appeared behind Lee with a bowl of ramen. "Yes, enough. You don't want to smell like ramen for the rest of the week like you will if I pour this down the back of your jumpsuit, do you?"

"N-no!"

Naruto's head snapped around. "What? Why not, Bushy-brow? I would LOVE to smell like ramen for a week!"

The other five ninja gaped at this for a moment, trying to keep their laughs under control. But eventually they all failed. Neji clutched his stomach as tears of laughter fell from his eyes. Tenten collapsed on the floor with Sakura, giggling hysterically. Lee pointed at Naruto and laughed without any regrets. But Sasuke was by far the worst—he couldn't stop laughing no matter how much Naruto shook him, which is saying a lot.

Finally, when the Uchiha's giggles had died down (for the most part, that is—the dark-haired ninja would still start to laugh now and then) the six of them rearranged themselves so they could all sit together. Neji and Tenten ordered some food (Tenten had remembered about her boyfriend's recent diet of nothing but ice-cream and decided to do something to end it) and Naruto ordered his twenty-seventh bowl of ramen.

"Um, Naruto, are you sure you should be eating this much?"

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan! No one can eat too much ramen. That's a fact of life!"

Sakura shook her head and made eye contact with Sasuke, raising her eyebrows as if to say "I pity you." The Uchiha smiled ruefully and nodded. Naruto certainly was a handful.

Unaware of the silent conversation going on over his head, Naruto pointed out the window of Ichiraku's and grinned. "Look! It's Hinata and Shikamaru. I wonder where they've been all day?"

Sasuke squinted at the two ninja in confusion. "What a minute. Why are they dripping wet?"

For some reason, Neji found this extremely funny and burst out laughing. He was soon joined by Sasuke. Naruto and Tenten shared amused glances as their boyfriends went on laughing hysterically. It seemed Sasuke, especially, was having more than his fair share of giggling today.

Hinata and Shikamaru had spotted the six of them and come over to Ichiraku's at that point. Shikamaru stood leaning in the doorway with one eyebrow raised. "Troublesome," he muttered. "Troublesome. Why are they all laughing? Did we miss something? I think we must have . . ."

"Y-yes, I think we did, Shikamaru-kun," Hinata murmured, smiling a bit at the scene in front of her. Naruto was shaking Sasuke and rolling his eyes at the hysterical Uchiha, trying to bring him back to his senses. Neji's shoulders were shaking with silent laughter. Tenten and Lee were ignoring them and trying to hold a sane conversation in the midst of all the madness.

Sakura jumped up and came over to welcome the two ninja. "Hinata! Shikamaru! I have so much to tell you two—did you know that Sasuke and Naruto are . . . you know . . . boyfriends now?! And that Neji and Tenten are together as well? I know! Isn't it amazing?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened. He opened his mouth but didn't say anything. Hinata merely blushed. She leaned forward and whispered something in Sakura's ear. The pink-haired ninja grinned and bounced up and down excitedly. "I know! I know! Isn't it great?"

Shikamaru tilted his head to the side. "What did you say to her, Hinata?"

Sakura's smile reached from ear to ear. "She just said that she thinks Naruto and Sasuke are really cute together. They really are! Wow!" She clasped her hands in front of her chest, eerily reminding Naruto of Kakashi's imitation of her the day before. Of course, he had no idea what she was saying to Shikamaru and Hinata since he was too far away to hear, and was still busy shaking Sasuke out of his fit of giggles.

Meanwhile, Hinata could see the gears turning in Shikamaru's mind. It was true that the Hyuuga didn't seem jealous of Sasuke, being Naruto's boyfriend and all. The Hyuuga smiled. She could tell Shikamaru was making a few connections in his mind.

Sakura put finger to her lips in thought. "Um, I hope you don't mind me asking, but exactly why are you both sopping wet?" She heard another burst of laughter form behind her. Sasuke was laughing at the smallest things today! It wasn't _that _funny. The pink-haired ninja smiled. At least the Uchiha was in a good mood—it seemed Naruto cheered him up immensely.

"Hinata pushed me into a stream _by accident_," Shikamaru explained with a raised eyebrow. The way he said it suggested that he didn't really think it was an accident. Not at all.

Hinata blushed in embarrassment. "It was a mistake, Sh-shikamaru-kun! Please believe me!"

The other ninja smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. Either way, it seems I got my revenge, didn't I?"

The Hyuuga smiled. "Y-you really didn't need to grab my hand as you started to fall. I wouldn't have fallen in with you otherwise."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes in mock-annoyance. "Listen to her, Sakura, she's insufferable, isn't she!"

Sakura smiled at the two ninja. "Well, why don't you and your _insufferable_ friend come and hang out with us, Shikamaru?" she said teasingly, beckoning for them to come and join the rest of her friends. "We could do with some more sane people," she joked.

_They wouldn't make such a bad couple . . . _Sakura thought to herself, smirking. _Not bad at all . . . hmm . . ._

By this time, Naruto had managed to stop Sasuke from laughing, although it had taken a lot of cold water and threats of having ramen poured down his shirt. Neji was arguing with Lee over which of their girlfriends was more beautiful, and Tenten was trying to make them shut up and leave each other alone.

Sakura took a kunai and banged it on the table to get everyone's attention. "Listen up! I think we should all go and ask Tsunade-sama to extend our brief vacation. All teams were given Valentine's Day and the day before off, but I think we should get two more days. Who's with me?"

Everyone raised their hands and cheered.

"Alright! Follow me!" The pink-haired ninja turned around and immediately bumped into the tall, masked form of her sensei. "What the . . .?"

The copy-ninja sighed. "I'm afraid you can't talk to the Hokage at the moment, Sakura."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Why not?"

Kakashi shifted nervously. "Tsunade-sama is . . . busy."

The blonde ninja blushed. He moved closer to his sensei and whispered in his ear, "You mean, the same way Sakura was busy with Lee that other time?"

Kakashi nodded. Naruto's eyes widened. "Grandma Tsunade has a _boyfriend_?!" he gasped. "Who is it? Tell me, Kakashi-sensei!"

The masked ninja laughed. "Not a boyfriend, Naruto. A girlfriend." Naruto's eyebrows shot up. "Shizune."

"Too much information! Too much information!" Naruto shrieked, grabbing Sasuke's arm and fleeing from Ichiraku's Ramen Bar. Sakura laughed silently at her team-mate as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke with the Uchiha. She turned to her sensei when they were gone. "What was that about? What did you say to him? Oh never mind, don't answer that. What I really want to know is if we can talk to Tsunade-sama."

"I'm sorry, you can't talk to her right now, Sakura, but I'll give you guys two more days off if you really want it," Kakashi said lightly, eye curving into a half-moon as he smiled beneath his mask. The remaining ninja grinned and crowed with delight, thanking him happily before going off to their respective destinations.

Lee and Sakura decided just to lie in a meadow the rest of the day. Neji and Tenten agreed to go on a walk and relax, and Shikamaru and Hinata said goodbye to each other and went to their own houses to change out of their wet clothes.

Meanwhile, Naruto was still dragging a breathless Sasuke down the street.

"Naruto! Stop! Stop! Seriously, you idiot, what's your problem?"

The blonde ninja finally came to a halt, wiping sweat from his brow. "Sorry, Sasuke. What Kakashi-sensei said just kind of . . . took me by surprise."

"Well, what was it? You were whispering with him—none of us know what you said."

"Uh . . . basically, Grandma Tsunade and Shizune . . . are . . . _together. _Like how _we're _together. They're girlfriend and girlfriend, I guess."

Sasuke's mouth fell open. "Oh . . ."

Naruto nodded, closing his eyes. "Say something to get these mental images out of my head. Please!"

The Uchiha thought for a minute. Suddenly he held up a hand and smirked. "Wait a second, Naruto. I composed a poem for you. Will that do?"

Naruto jumped. "WHAT?! You . . . composed a poem . . . for me?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and nodded. "You composed one for me, so I guess this is just getting even."

The blonde ninja waved his hand impatiently, having gotten over his initial shock. "Yeah, whatever, I guess that'll do fine then."

The Uchiha smirked even wider. "Alright, here goes." He pulled Naruto into an alley and pushed him against the wall of a building, holding his wrists in a tight grip. Naruto briefly wondered why Sasuke liked pinning him to things, but was unable to finish the thought since the dark-haired ninja had started talking.

"Foxes are cute . . ." Sasuke muttered, making Naruto blush and grin. "Ramen's okay . . ." Naruto's smile slid off his face and he looked hurt. "Okay" was way too much of an understatement for the glorious deliciousness that was ramen! But the Uchiha continued.

"You and me are both . . . undeniably gay."

Naruto had to agree with that.

I mean, seriously, what ninja in his right mind wouldn't be gay with _Sasuke _around?

Naruto moved closer to the Uchiha and their lips met in a soft kiss. When they pulled apart, the blonde ninja was smirking.

"You're even worse at writing poetry than I am."

"Am not." Sasuke glared down at Naruto and gripped his wrists even tighter.

"Are too!"

"No, I'm not, damn it!"

"Shut up, will you?"

"Why should I?"

Naruto growled as he wrenched his hands out of the Uchiha's grasp. "Because you're making it really hard for me to kiss you! That's why."

Sasuke blinked as Naruto leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "Oh . . . uh . . ."

Naruto grinned as a faint pink tinge rose in the dark-haired ninja's cheeks. "Aw, is Sasuke the ever-aloof bastard blushing?"

"No . . ." the other boy said through his teeth.

"Hn." Naruto moved closer so that their noses were almost touching. "This still embarrasses you, doesn't it, you bastard . . ."

"Maybe a little . . ."

Naruto grinned and wrapped his arms around Sasuke, pulling him closer. He could feel the other boy's heart beating faster against his chest, which made his knees feel weak. But the Uchiha had the nerve to stand there with his hands in his pockets, as if nothing was going on. Naruto rested his head on the dark-haired ninja's shoulder and turned his head so that his lips were pressed against Sasuke's neck.

"Hn, teme, what's with your attitude? It's impossible for you to show any emotion, isn't it," he murmured.

The Uchiha shivered and took a step backward. "I can show emotion, stupid! It isn't fair to make that judgment."

Naruto lowered his eyebrows in annoyance. "Then what's with how you always push me away?"

The Uchiha turned his back on the blonde ninja and sighed. "I'm sorry, Naruto." He scuffed his feet nervously. "It's just that I'm not used to this . . ."

Naruto took a step forward, resting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Relax, teme." He took both of the Uchiha's shoulders and made the other boy turn around to face him. "Relax." He leaned forward and pressed his lips against Sasuke's, reaching a hand up to hold the back of his head.

When Naruto pulled away, he still stayed close to Sasuke, holding the other ninja's black eyes in his steady gaze. The Uchiha let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been keeping.

_He really does love me . . . _

Of course, the Uchiha had known that before, but not with such intensity . . . but now, staring into Naruto's blue eyes, he knew it more than he ever had. "I still can't believe I fell in love with a dumb blonde," he murmured, running his fingers through Naruto's yellow hair.

The blonde ninja jumped. "What? WHO?!"

Sasuke sighed. "Maybe 'dumb' was an understatement," he muttered to himself. "_You _are the dumb blonde, idiot," he said with a grin.

"Oh."

"Don't look so surprised."

Naruto smiled brilliantly and snuggled farther into Sasuke's embrace. "Hn, you know, I still can't believe I fell in love with a stuck-up, snobbish excuse-for-a-human-being."

Sasuke lowered his eyebrows. "If you love snobbish people like me, doesn't it make you pretty stupid?"

"I thought we had already established that."

"I'm sorry, I forgot."

Naruto grinned and squeezed Sasuke tighter. Falling in love with the bastard was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Of that he was sure.

xxx

Tsunade shook herself. She had dozed off for a second with her head on a pile of papers. _How can a Hokage's work be THIS boring . . . I wish-_

The Sennin's thoughts were cut off as the door to her office opened. She groaned. "Shizune . . . what time is it?"

"Time to go to bed, Tsunade-sama," Shizune said with a smile. "Come on, you've done enough work for the day."

The blonde ninja smiled gratefully. "Good." She stood up and stretched, yawning as she walked over to the door. "Well, let's go then. I'm feeling really sleepy." The Hokage put an arm around Shizune's shoulders and kissed her cheek. "Hn, you know, I wouldn't be able to stand being Hokage if I didn't have you around . . ."

Shizune blushed and pulled Tsunade down the hallway. The Fifth Hokage's eyelids were already starting to droop. "And I wouldn't be able to stand serving you if you didn't return my feelings . . ." she murmured quietly, more to herself than to her mistress.

Tsunade smiled slightly, hearing Shizune's words. "'Night, Shizune . . ." she mumbled.

The dark-haired ninja sighed. _Trust Tsunade-sama to fall asleep half-way to her room . . . _Shizune wrapped her other arm around the Hokage and barely managed to get her to the bed. She climbed in beside the blonde ninja and snuggled closer. "'Night, Tsunade-sama . . ." she whispered into the Hokage's blonde hair.

xxx

Night had fallen on Konoha. The streets were silent and the lights in the windows of stores were flickering off. Darkness enveloped the trees and alleyways. Lee and Sakura had fallen asleep in the meadow where they went to spend the rest of they day, curled up in each others arms.

Meanwhile, Hinata sat up in bed and pushed the covers off her feet. She stood up and walked over to the window, looking out at the moon as it rose above the treetops. Little did she know, but Shikamaru was gazing at the same moon from where he stood in his doorway.

Hinata smiled slightly, eyes filling with the moonlight falling through her window._ I wish I could thank Shikamaru-kun for everything he's done . . . _

_I don't feel invisible anymore . . ._

Shikamaru sighed in contentment. The dark-haired ninja turned from his doorway and walked up the dark stairs to his room. His heart felt a little lighter.

Neji trudged up one of the streets in Konoha, a sleeping Tenten cradled in his arms. She had fallen asleep after their walk earlier that day. The Hyuuga looked down at her peaceful face, his heart skipping a beat.

Naruto and Sasuke lay in each others arms on the grassy hill outside the village, looking up at the stars.

"Hn, those stars look like they could make a bowl of ramen . . ."

"That's called the Big Dipper, not The Great Bowl of Ramen, dobe. Is food all you ever think about?"

"Yes. Besides you, of course, Sasuke . . ."

The Uchiha blushed and turned over to lie on his back. Naruto moved closer, reaching out a hand to touch the ninja's hair—it looked black in this light, darker than the shadows of the trees that were crawling up the sides of the hill as the moon rose higher. And as the moon rose higher, more moonlight fell on Sasuke's skin, making him glow faintly. He looked too perfect to be anything but an illusion, and Naruto still couldn't believe that the Uchiha was real, and that he was actually there in his arms.

"Stop playing with my hair, dobe . . ." Sasuke mumble half-heartedly. Naruto ignored the comment altogether. He knew the Uchiha secretly enjoyed it.

"Shut up, teme," Naruto whispered with the utmost tenderness.

"I love you too, dobe," the Uchiha whispered back.

xxx

**A/N: **I used the word _dobe _instead of _idiot _in the last scene because I just thought it sounded better. And the part where Sasuke says "I can't believe I fell in love with a dumb blonde" and Naruto answers "WHO?" was my sister's idea. Brilliant! Trust Naruto to be that thick. Haha!

For all you KakaIru fans, I wrote a sequel to this fic called 'Coincidences' so go check it out.

Thanks to all of you for reading, and I'd love it if you reviewed! I'm always up for criticism, because I know I need it. Short reviews are good too. Anything you have to say will be appreciated. Thanks again!


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